<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" version="2.0">
  <channel>
    <title>Aaj TV English News - Sports</title>
    <link>https://english.aaj.tv/</link>
    <description>Aaj TV English</description>
    <language>en-Us</language>
    <copyright>Copyright 2026</copyright>
    <pubDate>Mon, 13 Jul 2026 17:45:54 +0500</pubDate>
    <lastBuildDate>Mon, 13 Jul 2026 17:45:54 +0500</lastBuildDate>
    <ttl>60</ttl>
    <item xmlns:default="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/">
      <title>France say they do not fear Spain before World Cup semi-final</title>
      <link>https://english.aaj.tv/news/330463379/france-say-they-do-not-fear-spain-before-world-cup-semi-final</link>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;France are not afraid of Spain going into their World Cup semi-final on Tuesday, defender Ibrahima Konate said, but they ​are conscious of their opponents’ quality and their near-perfect backline.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Spain have conceded only one ‌goal in the entire tournament to reach the last four in search of a second World Cup title.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;France, winners in 2018 and finalists four years ago, know Spain very well, having lost to them in the ​Euro 2024 last four and also in last year’s Nations League semi-finals.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;“You cannot fear ​anyone,” France centre-back Konate told a press conference.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;“We will now prepare as best ⁠as possible and hope the result in the end will favour us.”&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;“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,” said Konate, who had a brief substitute appearance in the win over Norway in their final group match.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Dayot Upamecano and William Saliba have been France’s starting centre-backs, as the tournament ​favourites eye their fifth World Cup final.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The French have reached four of the last seven World ​Cup finals.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Should they take part in the July 19 showdown in New York, they will sustain the ‌comparison ⁠with West Germany, arguably the ultimate tournament nation with four finals between 1974 and 1990.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;But Konate said the French were not wasting any thoughts on what might be.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;“We are staying humble, we won’t fall into that trap,” he said.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;They will need to find a way to break down ​this World Cup’s most effective ​backline, as well ⁠as contain as much as possible Lamine’s runs down the wings.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;“I would not say ‘fear’ but we are conscious of their quality,” said fellow France ​centre-back Maxence Lacroix.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;“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.”&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Top of the list is Spain winger Lamine, who has earned praise from his coach for keeping ⁠opponents’ defenders ​busy as teammates use the spaces created.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;“We will defend well, ​the best,” Lacroix said. “Lamine is a very good player, and he has shown he can hurt teams at this World ​Cup. We will do the work that is needed.”&lt;/p&gt;
</description>
      <content:encoded xmlns="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"><![CDATA[<p><strong>France are not afraid of Spain going into their World Cup semi-final on Tuesday, defender Ibrahima Konate said, but they ​are conscious of their opponents’ quality and their near-perfect backline.</strong></p>
<p>Spain have conceded only one ‌goal in the entire tournament to reach the last four in search of a second World Cup title.</p>
<p>France, winners in 2018 and finalists four years ago, know Spain very well, having lost to them in the ​Euro 2024 last four and also in last year’s Nations League semi-finals.</p>
<p>“You cannot fear ​anyone,” France centre-back Konate told a press conference.</p>
<p>“We will now prepare as best ⁠as possible and hope the result in the end will favour us.”</p>
<p>“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,” said Konate, who had a brief substitute appearance in the win over Norway in their final group match.</p>
<p>Dayot Upamecano and William Saliba have been France’s starting centre-backs, as the tournament ​favourites eye their fifth World Cup final.</p>
<p>The French have reached four of the last seven World ​Cup finals.</p>
<p>Should they take part in the July 19 showdown in New York, they will sustain the ‌comparison ⁠with West Germany, arguably the ultimate tournament nation with four finals between 1974 and 1990.</p>
<p>But Konate said the French were not wasting any thoughts on what might be.</p>
<p>“We are staying humble, we won’t fall into that trap,” he said.</p>
<p>They will need to find a way to break down ​this World Cup’s most effective ​backline, as well ⁠as contain as much as possible Lamine’s runs down the wings.</p>
<p>“I would not say ‘fear’ but we are conscious of their quality,” said fellow France ​centre-back Maxence Lacroix.</p>
<p>“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.”</p>
<p>Top of the list is Spain winger Lamine, who has earned praise from his coach for keeping ⁠opponents’ defenders ​busy as teammates use the spaces created.</p>
<p>“We will defend well, ​the best,” Lacroix said. “Lamine is a very good player, and he has shown he can hurt teams at this World ​Cup. We will do the work that is needed.”</p>
]]></content:encoded>
      <category>Sports</category>
      <guid>https://english.aaj.tv/news/330463379</guid>
      <pubDate>Mon, 13 Jul 2026 15:20:42 +0500</pubDate>
      <author>none@none.com (Reuters)</author>
      <media:content url="https://i.aaj.tv/large/2026/07/13151211b77929a.webp" type="image/webp" medium="image" height="480" width="800">
        <media:thumbnail url="https://i.aaj.tv/thumbnail/2026/07/13151211b77929a.webp"/>
        <media:title>Spain forward Lamine Yamal (19) kicks the ball against Belgium during a quarterfinal match in the 2026 FIFA World Cup at Los Angeles Stadium. -- Reuters</media:title>
      </media:content>
      <media:content url="https://i.aaj.tv/large/2026/07/13151244296241b.webp" type="image/webp" medium="image" height="480" width="800">
        <media:thumbnail url="https://i.aaj.tv/thumbnail/2026/07/13151244296241b.webp"/>
        <media:title>France defender Ibrahima Konate (15) and midfielder Desire Doue (20) during a training session at Melanie Lane Training Grounds. -- Reuters</media:title>
      </media:content>
      <media:content url="https://i.aaj.tv/large/2026/07/131513185e7e0b7.webp" type="image/webp" medium="image" height="480" width="800">
        <media:thumbnail url="https://i.aaj.tv/thumbnail/2026/07/131513185e7e0b7.webp"/>
        <media:title>France's William Saliba. -- Reuters</media:title>
      </media:content>
    </item>
  </channel>
</rss>
