Lamine Yamal’s 2026 World Cup Semi‑final Prediction
Spain winger Lamine Yamal has shared his belief that France, Spain, Portugal and Argentina will advance to the semi‑finals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. He noted that despite tough knockout draws, he sees France meeting Spain and Portugal facing Argentina in the last four.
France have already booked a place in the round of 16, where they will play Paraguay. Portugal are set to clash with Croatia in the round of 32, while Argentina will take on Cape Verde and Spain will face Austria.
“In my head, the semifinals should be: France vs Spain and Portugal vs Argentina,” Yamal said.
Folarin Balogun’s Historic Red Card
In another notable incident, USA forward Folarin Balogun became only the fourth player in World Cup history to score and then be sent off in a knockout match. He netted the opening goal in the United States’ 2‑0 victory over Bosnia‑Herzegovina before receiving a red card for stepping on the ankle of defender Tarik Muharemovic.
Balogun now joins Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldinho and Garrincha as the only players to achieve this dubious feat in a World Cup knockout game.
USA head coach Mauricio Pochettino defended his striker, insisting the challenge was accidental. “Balogun? Never intentional, never a red card,” he said, adding that reviewing the replay showed it was a normal football action that happened by chance.
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