Spain Faces France with Spot in Euro 2024 Final on the Line

Spain and France meet in the semifinals of the European Championship on Tuesday. The match pits one of the highest-scoring teams at the tournament against one of the lowest as France’s star forward Kylian Mbappé has struggled to get to grips with his mask. Kickoff is at 9 p.m. local time in Munich. According to The Associated Press, here’s what to know about the match:
Match facts — The winner will play England or the Netherlands in the final on Sunday in Berlin. Their semifinal is on Wednesday.
— Spain and France's quarterfinals both went to extra time. Substitute Mikel Merino’s game-winning goal in the last minute of extra time handed Spain a 2-1 victory over host nation Germany, while France needed penalties to see off Portugal after the match ended goalless.
— No France player has scored from open play at Euro 2024. The French have only scored through two own goals and a penalty from Mbappé. Spain has netted 11 times.
— Mbappé, who will be facing several of his new Real Madrid teammates, will again be wearing a protective mask after sustaining a broken nose in France’s group opener against Austria.
— Spain, which is chasing a record fourth European Championship title, has been perfect in Germany. It was the only team to win all its group stage matches, while France could only muster draws against Poland and the Netherlands after a narrow win over Austria.
Team news — Spain paid the price for its dramatic win over Germany and a number of players will miss the semifinal — and in some cases the final should La Roja get there — because of suspension or injury.
— Midfielder Pedri had to come off in the eighth minute against Germany with a knee injury following a hefty challenge from Toni Kroos and has been ruled out of the rest of Euro 2024. He will again be replaced by Dani Olmo — who came on for the 21-year-old and went on to score the opener as well as set up Merino’s winner.
— Dani Carvajal was sent off late in extra time for a second yellow card and will be suspended against France, as will fellow defender Robin le Normand after picking up another booking. Veteran Jesús Navas is likely to be tasked with marking Mbappé.
— France coach Didier Deschamps has no injury problems as Marcus Thuram returned to training on Sunday, alleviating concerns he could miss the semifinal after taking a blow to his thigh at the end of the match against Portugal.
By the numbers — Spain and France have only conceded three goals between them. The only time France goalkeeper Mike Maignan had to pick the ball out of his net was Poland's retaken penalty in the group stage, while Spain conceded against Georgia and Germany.
— The teams have met 36 times, with Spain winning 16 to France’s 13 — including five of the past eight.
— This is Spain’s sixth European Championship semifinal. It has only once failed to advance to the trophy match, losing on penalties to eventual champion Italy at Euro 2020.
— France has reached the semifinals on five previous occasions, winning three.
— France has reached the final in three of last four major tournaments, losing 1-0 after extra time to Portugal at Euro 2016 and to Argentina on penalties in the 2022 World Cup, but beating Croatia to claim its second world title in 2018.
What they’re saying “We’re in the semifinals and it’s something we shouldn’t take for granted, even if we may be used to it recently. Now we go to win it.” — France coach Didier Deschamps.
“Very few people gave us a chance and staying under the radar helped us start the tournament with confidence. Spain is a team to respect. I knew we had a great team and that’s how it turned out.” — Spain defender Marc Cucurella.
“It’s natural for him. He has this gift of carrying the team, the group. He gives ideas, advice to the players. He was born for that. He was born to pull the group up.” — France striker Randal Kolo Muani on Mbappé’s captaincy.
“My players are insatiable. There’s always room for improvement, of course, but we can’t question their pride, quality and commitment.” — Spain coach Luis de la Fuente.

Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson will miss “a few weeks” after he was injured and substituted in Saturday's English Premier League match against Crystal Palace.

Alisson appeared to hurt his hamstring when clearing the ball in the second half at Selhurst Park and had to leave the field in the 79th minute.

Liverpool manager Arne Slot expected him to miss Brazil's World Cup qualifiers and Liverpool's next game, at least.

“What we do know is that if a player walks off like he did, that normally means that he is not in the Brazil squad and I don’t expect him to be in the team in the first game we play after (the international break)," Slot said. “It is going to take a few weeks I assume for him to be back. I think it is (his hamstring).”

Brazil has World Cup qualifiers against Chile and Peru during the upcoming international break.

Alisson limped off to be replaced by Vitezslav Jaros. Alisson has only recently returned after a muscle injury and was holding the back of his right leg on the sideline.

First-placed Liverpool won 1-0 through Diogo Jota's goal in the ninth minute.

Argentina midfielder Alexis Mac Allister also went off as a precaution because of an issue with his groin.

Slot said he didn't know if Mac Allister would be able to play for Argentina in its upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Venezuela and Bolivia.

“He went off because of an injury, but how bad it is difficult for me to judge in this moment,” he said.

Spain Faces France with Spot in Euro 2024 Final on the Line