France Not Afraid of Spain but Respect Their Quality, Players Say

France's defenders are preparing for their World Cup semi-final against Spain with a mix of respect and confidence. Center-back Ibrahima Konate stated that while the team does not fear their opponents, they are "conscious of their quality." Spain boasts a formidable defense, having allowed only a single goal throughout the tournament as they aim for their second World Cup title.

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You cannot fear anyone. We will now prepare as best as possible and hope the result in the end will favor us.

France, the winners in 2018 and runners-up four years ago, are familiar with Spain's capabilities, having lost to them in the Euro 2024 semi-finals and the Nations League semi-finals last year. "You cannot fear anyone," Konate told reporters. "We will now prepare as best as possible and hope the result in the end will favor us."

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Spain are an exceptional team, with a lot of individual quality, so we won't be focusing on just one player even though Lamine (Yamal) is a great player.

Konate acknowledged Spain's exceptional individual talent, particularly mentioning Lamine Yamal, but emphasized that France's focus will be on the team rather than a single player. "We won't be focusing on just one player even though Lamine (Yamal) is a great player," he said. The French team, with Dayot Upamecano and William Saliba as their starting center-backs, is aiming for their fifth World Cup final appearance, a feat that would align them with West Germany's historical tournament dominance.

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We are staying humble, we won't fall into that trap.

However, Konate stressed the importance of staying grounded. "We are staying humble, we won't fall into that trap," he stated, according to Reuters. Fellow defender Maxence Lacroix echoed this sentiment, saying, "I would not say 'fear' but we are conscious of their quality." He added, "They have won all their matches (except a 0-0 draw against Cape Verde in the group), so we respect them. They have high quality players but we want to win."

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I would not say 'fear' but we are conscious of their quality. They have won all their matches (except a 0-0 draw against Cape Verde in the group), so we respect them. They have high quality players but we want to win.