Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.
Jules Kounde believes France “can’t spend 90 minutes chasing the ball” if they are to beat Spain in their World Cup semi-final on Tuesday.
This will be just the second ever World Cup meeting between France and Spain, following their last 16 meeting back in 2006, with Les Bleus progressing having come from behind to win 3-1.
France booked their spot in the last four with a 2-0 victory over Morocco; having won all six of their World Cup matches in 2026, France are looking to become just the second European side to win seven in a row at the World Cup (also Italy in 1934 and 1938).
Les Bleus are in their eighth World Cup semi-final, with only Germany competing in more (12).
They were eliminated from their first three in 1958, 1982 and 1986, but have progressed to the final in their last four (1998, 2006, 2018, 2022), winning their last three without conceding a goal.
While France have produced plenty of threat on the counter this year, Kounde believes they must be able to retain possession to disrupt Spain’s tactics.
“We are two very attacking teams,” said Kounde.
“Spain has historically always played a possession-based game, although they can also be dangerous on the counter-attack.
Dernière séance avant la demi-finale de demain face à l’Espagne ! pic.twitter.com/xS3LjKxQKu
— Equipe de France (@equipedefrance) July 13, 2026
“We are also comfortable with the ball, but we know how to adapt and take advantage of transitions when we find space.
“We will also need to have possession, because against Spain you can’t spend ninety minutes chasing the ball.
“If you do that, you end up finding space everywhere and you end up suffering.”
France are looking to become only the third team in World Cup history to reach three consecutive finals, along with Germany in 1982, 1986 and 1990 and Brazil in 1994, 1998 and 2002.
Didier Deschamps will take charge of his 26th World Cup match, an outright record by a manager in World Cup history, overtaking Helmut Schon of Germany.
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