Spain celebrate Lamine Yamal’s birthday before World Cup semifinal

Spain’s players surprised Lamine Yamal with a birthday celebration in training as the winger turned 19 on July 13, a day before the World Cup semifinal against France. The scene underlined the loose, confident mood inside the Spain camp, where the teenager has become the center of attention before the defining match of his tournament.

The semifinal at Estadio Dallas was scheduled for July 14 at 19:00, and the Real Federación Española de Fútbol said Spain arrived in Dallas the night of July 12 after flying from Los Angeles. FIFA highlighted the birthday coincidence as part of the build-up around a game that has drawn intense scrutiny because of Yamal’s age, his role in Spain’s attack and the weight of the occasion.

Spain earned its place with a 2-1 win over Belgium, sealed by Mikel Merino’s goal in the 88th minute. That result put Spain into only its second World Cup semifinal, matching the country’s previous run in 2010, when Vicente del Bosque’s team went on to win the title. This time, Luis de la Fuente set the tone in the buildup in Dallas, telling more than 300 journalists that Spain would give everything to reach the final.

Yamal, for his part, tried to cut through the noise around scoring and individual headlines. He said, "No me preocupan los goles, pero siempre es especial y acepto el reto," a measured response from a player being asked to carry an enormous burden in one of the sport’s most watched settings. The message matched the atmosphere around Spain’s camp, where the birthday celebration became one more sign of a group trying to keep the moment human.

The matchup carried its own history. FIFA said Yamal and Kylian Mbappé were due to meet for the 11th time in their careers, and that Mbappé had lost eight of the previous 10 duels. Spain also entered the semifinal with recent momentum against France, having beaten them 2-1 in the Euro 2024 semifinal and 5-4 in the 2025 Nations League semifinal. That record gave Spain a sense of familiarity, even as the stakes in Dallas pushed the rivalry into a different scale.