France's ODM trio of Olise, Dembélé and Mbappé head into Spain semi-final as World Cup's most feared attack

France's progress to the World Cup semi-final has been defined by a ruthlessly efficient attack that blends Michael Olise's creative passing, Ousmane Dembélé's dribbling and Kylian Mbappé's record-breaking finishing. The trio, nicknamed ODM, has propelled Les Bleus to 16 goals in the tournament (an average of more than 2.5 per match), a tally exceeded only by Argentina. Their semi-final against Spain at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas offers a chance to avenge back-to-back defeats in the Euro 2024 final (2-1) and a 2025 Nations League semi-final (5-4).

World Cup goals and assists

Mbappé leads the tournament scoring charts with 8 goals, breaking Olivier Giroud's long-standing France record of 57 international goals during the group stage. Dembélé has contributed 5 goals, Bradley Barcola 2 and Désiré Doué 1. Olise, yet to score, stands on 5 assists, one short of Pelé's single-World Cup assist record. France completed a perfect group phase with victories over Senegal (3-1), Iraq and Norway (4-1), registering 10 goals scored and only 2 conceded.

Favorable stats against Spain

Opta's supercomputer gives France a 58% probability of reaching the final. The Mbappé-Dembélé pairing alone has combined for 13 goals, already two more than the entire Spanish squad's 11 at this World Cup. Fatigue data also points toward Les Bleus: France has travelled only 6,360 km across the tournament (approximately 13 hours and 50 minutes of flight time) versus Spain's 24,200 km (43 hours). Spain's Lamine Yamal has found the going difficult, completing just 45% of his dribbles, winning 47% of his duels and losing possession 104 times.

Past meetings with La Roja

The head-to-head record in official competitions has favoured Spain for two decades; France last beat their neighbours in a tournament setting in 2006, when Zinédine Zidane's goal decided a last-16 tie. The most recent encounters were both high-scoring Spanish wins: the 2-1 Euro 2024 final in Berlin and a wild 5-4 Nations League semi-final in 2025, where France rallied from a heavy deficit but fell short. The current French squad sees the Dallas match as an opportunity to close that chapter.

Route to the semi-final

After topping Group A with a perfect nine points, Didier Deschamps' side eliminated Sweden in the round of 16 and then won a quarter-final (opponent not named in available reports) to set up the semi-final. Mbappé scored in each of the first two group matches, Dembele struck his first World Cup goal against Iraq and then added a hat-trick against Norway. Olise's playmaking has been the thread linking the phases, his five assists already among the all-time tournament leaders.

Looking ahead

The winner in Dallas will face either Argentina or the semi-final's other survivor in the final. Deschamps has described the Spanish encounter as a test of character as much as tactics, and his squad carries the confidence of being the second most prolific side in the competition. Kick-off is scheduled for 21:00 local time.