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By Megan Armstrong
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France, also known as Les Bleus, have scored at least three goals in each of their first four matches at the 2026 FIFA men's World Cup.
Most recently, Kylian Mbappe scored a brace to lead France to a 3-0 win over Sweden in the Round of 32 on Tuesday, June 30. The performance reinforced what was already a universally held belief: France is a superteam, and denying them of the World Cup title will be a gargantuan task.
Lamine Yamal, Spain's 18-year-old wunderkind, doesn't care.
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"They haven't beaten us since the Euros," Yamal said during a newly published interview with Juanma Castaño for El Partidazo de Cope. "They can't be better than us."
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Yamal downplayed France's overwhelming group stage because the "World Cup starts now," meaning the knockout stage. He conceded that France is in "very good form," but he doesn't believe there's a favorite.
"It happens to me that when a competition comes up, I think I'm going to win it," the Barcelona star later added. "So, I think I'm going to win the World Cup this year, and the Champions League is going to be harder for me, because I think we're going to win the World Cup this year."
Yamal is appearing in his first World Cup for Spain and scored his first-ever World Cup goal during his first-ever World Cup start against Saudi Arabia on June 21.
Yamal had been working back from a lingering hamstring injury, but he told Castaño that he feels between 80-90% and could play all 90 minutes for La Roja against Austria in the Round of 32 on Thursday, July 2. Spain will need the best from Yamal with injuries mounting around him.
Should Spain take care of Austria, they would face the winner between Croatia and Portugal in the Round of 16 on Monday, July 6.
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