France v Spain: Back Les Bleus for another final as Mbappe & Yamal combine for big 12/1 Bet Builder

Back Les Bleus for third straight final

Click here for France v Spain odds
Tuesday 14 July, 20:00 kick-off
AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
Live on ITV

Probably the two best teams so far at the World Cup meet in Texas battling for a place in the final, and there's not much between France and Spain despite Les Bleus being well fancied as 13/102.30 favourites.

European champions Spain are 23/103.30 to maintain manager Luis de la Fuente's incredible unbeaten record in major tournaments (W12 D1) but they've needed late, late winners to get past both Portugal and Belgium in the last two rounds.

Didier Deschamps' men had a physical battle against Paraguay but have been largely untroubled so far and haven't conceded in the knockouts - while Spain conceded their first goal of the tournament against Belgium, so both defences are about as solid as it gets.

Spain do it by keeping the ball - topping the possession stats and allowing just seven shots on target all tournament, while France have been more expansive going forward, leading the way in expected goals (14.3), big chances (27) and shots on target per match (7.8).

The draw is 9/43.25 and it'd be no surprise to see a tense Texas struggle instead of the Texas shootout. It's 50-50 if Under 2.5 goals will land as both over and and under are priced at 20/231.87.

It'll likely be Spain dominating the ball and looking for a spark from Lamine Yamal, but France have the pace and threat of Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise - a trio well capable of making the very most of any opportunity and possibly the best in the world at playing on the counter attack.

We'd love to see these two go at it fron the start, Spain won a 5-4 thriller in their last meeting a year ago, but it's hard to see this time around and the 0-0 at half-time is 9/52.80 and well worth backing.

I see France as the best team here so expect them to get over the line - I can see a 1-0 or 2-0 victory for the French but at the prices I'm happy enough to play it safer and cover a 2-1 as well as France book a third straight World Cup final appearance.

Yamal & Mbappe combine for 12/113.00 Bet Builder

Kylian Mbappe unsurprisingly is the market leader at 1/12.00 to score anytime, with Mikel Oyarzabal 15/82.88 and Lamine Yamal 23/103.30 as the next best options. Ousmane Dembele would be the other obvious option with 12/53.40 not bad for a guy with five goals in the World Cup already.

Mikel Merino is 4/15.00 as despite two late winners in the last two games he's by no means certain to start here.

Incredibly both of these sides have had exactly the same amout of goal attempts with 110 each - France hitting the target 47 times and Spain 40 but there may be more long-range efforts here thanks to the defences on show.

An OddsBoost on Mbappe, Dembele and Yamal to have just 1+ shot on target each looks worth your time at 6/42.50, while interestingly both Mbappe and Yamal have hit the target at least twice in all three knockout games.

So back Mbappe and Yamal for 2+ shots on target each again at around an 11/43.75 chance.

But it's a semi-final so we need a big Bet Builder don't we for such a big game, and we'll stick with our big names but back them in a different market.

As Yamal has given away eight fouls in the knockouts, more than anyone else in the Spain squad, the 6/52.20 for him to give away another 2+ fouls looks a decent shout to me, with Lucas Digne snapping at his heels all game.

And Mbappe doesn't mind putting a foot in either - giving away a foul in four of six games so far and considering how comfortable France have been in most games that's a decent effort.

So we'll double up on Mbappe and Yamal for a big-time 12/113.00 Bet Builder.

Notable winners on Betting.Betfair at the World Cup

- Mark Stinchcombe's stunning 38/139.00 Bet Builder in South Korea v Czechia
- Paul Higham's 9/25.50 Bet Builder in Mexico's MD1 defeat of South Africa
- A 6/17.00 winning ACCA for Mark on Sunday at the World Cup
- Andy Robson's 9/110.00 five-leg ACCA as Germany wallop Curacao
- An 11/26.50 winner for Jimmy The Punt as Jonathan David scores 2+ goals
- Jack Critchley delivered a 5/16.00 goalscorer treble on day 13
- Japan score but lose to give Paul Higham a 3/14.00 winner
- France and Norway help Andy Robson land a 9/25.50 ACCA
- A Lucas Bergvall fouls frenzy v France secures 9/25.50 winner for Jimmy
- Jack bagged four out of four winners in MD21 including an 11/26.50 ACCA
- Andy Robson secured a 4/15.00 last 16 ACCA winner
- A full house of winning tips and an 11/26.50 ACCA to boot for Mark
- Loads of Messi shots and fouls won mean a 4/15.00 winner for Paul
- Shootout joy as Kev Hatchard lands 4/15.00 winner in Australia v Egypt
- A 7/24.50 quarter-final winner for Paul Higham

Now read Ste Tudor's betting angles for France v Spain