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Spain advanced to the semifinals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday, but its latest victory joined a list of unimpressive performances that it’s had during this tournament. “I don’t know if it’s a great team,” Alexi Lalas said on Friday’s “State of the Union.” “The rhythm and the beauty, for lack of a better word, that we’ve associated with them has not yet really found its way in this tournament. Spain narrowly beat Belgium 2-1 in their quarterfinals matchup on Friday, with goals from Fabián Ruiz and Mikel Merino, the latter of whom scored the 88th-minute match-winner. In the background of it all was Lamine Yamal, who went a fourth-straight match without recording a goal contribution. “Lamine Yamal, once again, was stymied,” Lalas said. “That’s a credit to Belgium, but he’s yet to have a breakout type of game.” Luis de la Fuente has continued to count on Yamal due to the 18-tear-old’s unquestionable talent, but Yamal’s teammates have put pressure on him with their performances off of the bench. “He plays on a team with plenty of talent, including the ability to make changes that come on and obviously affected the game here,” Lalas said. But Spain’s problems on offense go far beyond Yamal. The goal Spain gave up on Friday was the first it conceded all tournament, but Yamal and the Spanish attack have largely underwhelmed. Spain has scored 11 goals in six matches, but has scored two or fewer goals in four of its matches. Yamal has been front-and-center of those scoring struggles. He’s only scored once in this tournament and has yet to record an assist, logging an xG (expected goals) of 1.54 and xA (expected assists) of 1.01. And even though Yamal won Man of the Match on Friday, he struggled to get quality touches in the box. Just two of his six shots were on target, too. Lalas didn’t go as far as to say that Yamal should be benched against France. However, he implied that Spain got lucky with its win on Friday, considering that Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois departed the game in the 71st minute due to injury. “It’s not just taking off a goalkeeper; it’s taking off one of the great goalkeepers in the world,” Lalas said. “And, as the soccer Gods would have it, it ultimately leads to the goal that Spain wins the game on. Spain goes on. What more can you say about this game?” As Lalas alluded to, Spain scored the game-winning goal in the 88th minute when Mikel Merino buried a rebound opportunity after Belgium goalkeeper Senne Lemmens failed to corral a save. Still, Spain is in the semifinals for the first time since it won the World Cup in 2010. It’s also going up against a France squad that it has fared well against in recent years, winning its last two matches against France. One of those matches was the semifinals at UEFA Euro 2024, and Yamal has won all five knockout stage matches against Kylian Mbappé in his career (including club). But as Yamal and Spain might feel confident ahead of Tuesday’s semifinal, France has arguably looked like the best team of the tournament. Les Bleus have won their first six matches, outscoring their opponents by 14 goals so far. That’s why Lalas believes Spain is an underdog to France in the semifinal. “Based on this tournament’s performance, I wouldn’t put it at 50/50, but I wouldn’t put it out of the realm of possibility that Spain wins,” Lalas said. “You can even hear them in the way they were talking after the game about what is to come. They certainly don’t fear France, nor should they. They’ve matched up well against them. “But this particular version of Spain, in this particular moment, if you compare and contrast with what France is, I think the logical conclusion is that the favorite is France. So, I don’t think it’s a 50/50 proposition.”​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Murat Yakin was prepared for the first question. “How can you stop [Lionel] Messi?” a reporter asked Switzerland’s manager one day before his side takes on defending champion Argentina in the World Cup quarterfinals. “This is a very surprising question,” Yakin said, laughing. “First of all, there are many solutions, and we’ll try to find the best solution,” Yakin continued via an interpreter on Friday morning from Kansas City. “Tomorrow on the pitch, we will perform as a unit. We will try to make good passes and press high. We can talk a lot, but in the end, [we have to perform] on the pitch.” The 39-year-old Messi has scored eight goals in five matches at this World Cup, defying age while producing one of the most extraordinary tournaments of his career — and one of the greatest individual performances ever. The Argentine captain hasn’t hidden his emotions along the way. In the round of 16 against Egypt, he missed a first-half penalty before redeeming himself with an assist on Cristian Romero’s 79th-minute goal. Four minutes later, Messi found the equalizer himself, setting the stage for Enzo Fernández’s stoppage-time header that completed Argentina’s dramatic 3-2 comeback. He was in tears after the match. “I don’t know if we can stop him over 90 minutes,” Swiss captain Granit Xhaka said of Messi on Friday, via interpretation. “It’s going to be very difficult. We have to be smart. We’ll have to be compact, close the gaps and not give him too many spaces. We will try, obviously, to play in possession when we have the ball, and he won’t be able to act as much. We’ll just try to play our game and not allow him to play the ball.” Switzerland has not reached a World Cup quarterfinal in 72 years. The last time was in 1954, when it hosted the tournament and lost 7-5 to Austria in what is still the highest-scoring match in World Cup history. Four players combined for all 12 goals, with two recording hat tricks and two others scoring braces. Saturday marks the first World Cup meeting between Switzerland and Argentina since 2014, when the nations met in the round of 16 in Brazil. Argentina won, 1-0, in extra time thanks to Ángel Di María’s 118th-minute winner, assisted by Messi. That was Xhaka’s first World Cup. “It was not the most pleasant moment,” Xhaka, 33, said. “I think we performed very well. We could have scored — we should have scored. Now, 12 years later, we are back and this time, we will try to win against Argentina. “We have a new team, a new mentality and a new generation of players. Football in Switzerland has improved a lot, and tomorrow we will try to really bother Argentina. We have become stronger — not only in this tournament, but in the last couple of years.” Switzerland enters this showdown unbeaten, winning four of its five matches at this World Cup and drawing the opener against Qatar. The squad is fresh off a tense round of 16 battle, defeating Colombia in a penalty shootout. Argentina, meanwhile, has been challenged in its last two knockout matches. The defending champions were pushed to the brink of a penalty shootout against debutant Cape Verde in the round of 32 before rallying from behind to defeat Egypt. Both games were considered among the best — and most thrilling — of the tournament so far. The Swiss are keenly aware of how La Albiceleste have been able to find a way in the final moments. Xhaka’s message to his squad is that they need to “bring our A game.” “We’ve tried to bring this mentality to Switzerland that it’s not over until the referee’s [final] whistle,” said Xhaka, who plays for Premier League club Sunderland and is familiar with many of the players on Argentina’s roster. “Just go all in, try to come back, try to bring the hunger to win the games, and I think Argentina can be a big example of what we can do as well in our future, and maybe tomorrow as well.” Beating Argentina would be a monumental achievement for Switzerland, which has never been to a World Cup semifinal. “I am not here to talk,” Xhaka said. “I want to take the next steps, and we’re very close to the end. I’m yearning for it, I am hungry, and now we just need to show how much we really want it on the pitch. “I am a person who always dreams and dreams can come true,” the captain added. “You need to work, you need to sweat, you need to give it 100 percent. And sometimes, you need to do something new. You really need to push your limits if you want to beat Argentina, and I’m convinced my team is ready.”​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Saturday’s quarterfinal match between England and Norway displays the world’s most prolific strikers in Harry Kane and Erling Haaland. So, who’s better? FOX Sports’ Javier Hernández and Peter Schmeichel split their votes while acknowledging the quality of both players. “Harry Kane,” Hernández said. “The difference is tiny. They’re both amazing strikers all around, but definitely in my team, I want an all-around player like Harry Kane. We saw that play against my home country. The way that he played, the way that England played, England is getting better each day. What Erling Haaland has done at his age is just unbelievable.” At 25 years old, Haaland has scored 62 goals in 54 career games for Norway. For Manchester City, Haaland recorded 27 goals and eight assists in 35 Premier League matches last season. Schmeichel, while he would like to choose both, his argument swayed towards the young goalscorer for Norway. “Both,” Schmeichel initially said, before admitting, “I’ll take Haaland. The reason for that, he is younger and can play for many, many more years. But I have to say, they are different players, and what they do for the team is so different.” Kane’s six goals and Haaland’s seven in this World Cup both lead their teams at this World Cup, putting them firmly in the race for the Golden Boot. Norway reached their first-ever World Cup quarterfinal game, while Kane claimed the title as England’s all-time World Cup goalscorer against Panama. It has been a historic tournament for both. Norway’s attack also includes captain Martin Ødegaard and winger Antonio Nusa, who have contributed to their success. Ødegaard has three assists, while Nusa scored one of the best goals of the tournament against the Ivory Coast. Kane has fellow star Jude Bellingham alongside him, with the Real Madrid man scoring twice against Mexico. Kane is also fighting all over the field, getting a big block late in England’s 2-1 win over DR Congo and also putting in a defensive shift against Mexico when the Three Lions were down to 10 men. “Every time they need them,” Schmeichel said, “they are the guys who bring whatever they need to the (field). I think Harry Kane is a more all-around player. Erling Haaland is someone who is just happy to walk around, wait for the ball, and when it comes, he executes. “Harry goes a little bit deep, takes part in play, assists for other players, and is a much more mature striker in that sense, a very different striker. After that game (against Mexico), I think we all agreed that he is the best striker in the world, Harry Kane.”​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports