INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Lamine Yamal thinks France should be afraid of Spain with the European giants headed to a World Cup semifinal showdown on Tuesday.
“I believe if France has to fear anyone, it should be us, in my opinion," the teenage sensation told broadcast reporters after Spain beat Belgium 2-1 on Friday to secure its first semifinal berth since 2010. "We were the ones who knocked them out before.”
Click to Gallery
Spain's Lamine Yamal (19), wearing a headband that says 'Ego Yamal', controls the ball during the World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between Spain and Belgium in Inglewood, Calif., near Los Angeles, Friday, July 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
Spain's Lamine Yamal, wearing a headband that says 'Ego Yamal', comes out for warm up ahead of the World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between Spain and Belgium in Inglewood, Calif., near Los Angeles, Friday, July 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Spain's Lamine Yamal (19) and Nico Williams (17) celebrate in front of Belgium's Joaquin Seys (18) after the World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between Spain and Belgium in Inglewood, Calif., near Los Angeles, Friday, July 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Marcio J. Sanchez)
Spain's Lamine Yamal (19) celebrates at the end of the World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between Spain and Belgium in Inglewood, Calif., near Los Angeles, Friday, July 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Spain beat France in the 2024 European Championship semifinals and again in Nations League play last year. Yamal became the youngest player to score in the continental competition.
The powerhouses meet again at the home stadium of the Dallas Cowboys next week for a spot in the final.
“We don’t fear anyone,” said Yamal, who was named the man of the match against Belgium. "It’s clear that we are two great teams, world-class national teams, and for me they are one of the best. We’ll see what happens.”
Spain advanced on a winning goal by substitute Mikel Merino in the 88th minute of the quarterfinals at SoFi Stadium. La Roja conceded its only goal of the entire World Cup late in the first half against Belgium, while France has piled up 16 goals in its six World Cup matches.
France has made the past two World Cup finals, winning it all in 2018. Spain has made only one World Cup final in its history, but the current team is unbeaten in 37 consecutive competitive matches since March 2023 — a stretch that also includes a loss on penalties to Portugal in the Nations League final last year.
Spain coach Luis de la Fuente has been asked by the international media about this potential showdown with France throughout the tournament, but particularly since the start of the knockout rounds two weeks ago. He has been uniformly complimentary of Les Bleus while echoing his own players' confidence.
“Let me be clear: We are not finished,” de la Fuente said. “We are pleased to be in the semifinals, but we want more. ... We are capable of winning this game, and not just now, but I would have said this a few weeks ago as well."
Yamal, who turns 19 on Monday, has only one goal and no assists while putting 10 shots on target in his first World Cup, but his playmaking and activity down the right side of Spain's attack have been noticeable in almost every match. He started the sequence that led to Spain's first goal against Belgium in a two-man game with Pedro Porro, eventually leading to Fabián Ruiz's rebound goal off Dani Olmo's shot.
Yamal said his modest statistics don't bother him, noting that he also scored only one goal (with four assists) while Spain won the European Championship two years ago.
Although Spain needed a late goal from Merino to win for the second straight match, Yamal believes his team is ready for the challenge of the World Cup's dominant team so far. Yamal cited Spain's acumen in ball possession — a stat they've repeatedly dominated during this World Cup — as a way to take France out of its preferred style of play.
“I think we were much better, (than Belgium)," Yamal said. "It seems like we’re playing very beautiful football, but in reality, there isn’t a team that plays against us on equal footing. Everyone drops back, and that makes it more difficult. Nobody has gone toe-to-toe with us. But in the end, we secured the win.”
See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here
Spain's Lamine Yamal (19), wearing a headband that says 'Ego Yamal', controls the ball during the World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between Spain and Belgium in Inglewood, Calif., near Los Angeles, Friday, July 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
Spain's Lamine Yamal, wearing a headband that says 'Ego Yamal', comes out for warm up ahead of the World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between Spain and Belgium in Inglewood, Calif., near Los Angeles, Friday, July 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Spain's Lamine Yamal (19) and Nico Williams (17) celebrate in front of Belgium's Joaquin Seys (18) after the World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between Spain and Belgium in Inglewood, Calif., near Los Angeles, Friday, July 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Marcio J. Sanchez)
Spain's Lamine Yamal (19) celebrates at the end of the World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between Spain and Belgium in Inglewood, Calif., near Los Angeles, Friday, July 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — At least 47 people were killed and more than 50 others kidnapped when armed men attacked a once-peaceful community near Haiti’s capital earlier this week, the United Nations said Tuesday.
It is believed to be one of the largest mass kidnappings in Haiti in recent years, and one gang leader is threatening to kill the hostages if authorities kill any gang members as they try to secure the community nestled in the hills above Port-au-Prince.
Sunday’s attack on Kenscoff pierced the belief that security in the troubled Caribbean country was improving.
“This is a major political and security test, for the government, for the police and for the international mission,” said Romain Le Cour, head of the Haiti Observatory at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime.
He said the threat of executing hostages is a trap: If forces don’t act, they’ve failed to protect them; if they do and hostages die, the gangs will blame the state.
Kenscoff resident Marc Paul, 42, said gangs kidnapped his brother, stepmother, stepfather and two cousins. He said his 16-year-old niece also was kidnapped and raped but was able to escape and has reunited with him.
“I had to run over bodies,” he said as he recalled how he fled the attack. “I can’t sleep knowing all these people died."
Paul and his family had already lost their home to a previous gang attack in January 2025, but he said it was not as violent as Sunday’s attack. Paul was upset about the video the gangs posted: “My brother is probably going to die.”
In a video posted on social media, the gang leader threatened Vladimir Paraison, director of Haiti’s National Police.
“Paraison, if any of our soldiers are hurt, I will kill all of them,” he said, referring to the hostages.
The gang member identified himself as Izo 2, a reference to Izo, or Johnson André, one of Haiti’s most powerful gang leaders.
Le Cour said Izo 2 is also known as “Didi” and leads the armed group in Kenscoff on behalf of and in coordination with Izo and other gang leaders.
Kenson Paul, the 17-year-old nephew of Marc Paul, said he managed to escape the attackers.
“They have not called us to let us know what they want,” he said of the gang. “I worry for my family’s life.”
Le Cour said the aim of Sunday’s attack could be to force Haiti’s police and the U.N.-backed gang suppression force to disperse even more of their limited resources.
“They don’t have enough personnel,” Le Cour said in a phone interview. “If you force them to deploy more troops, it would inevitably be at the expense of other areas.”
The attack might also just be a show of force and a message to Haiti’s government and police as the country prepares to hold general elections on Dec. 13 for the first time in more than a decade.
“This is a message to the government and the police that their claims of protection do not match reality,” Le Cour said. “The gangs are saying: when we choose to attack, we can, and we will succeed.”
The first major attack on Kenscoff occurred in January 2025, and since then, there have been sporadic attacks in the mountains surrounding the city center.
But Sunday’s attack was the largest yet. At least five of the 47 people killed were children, according to the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti, known as BINUH.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the attack on Tuesday, noting that 22 of the victims were reportedly executed in a church compound where they had sought shelter: “The relentless gang attacks on communities and the loss of lives underscore the alarming security conditions in Haiti,” he said.
Kenscoff Mayor Jean Massillon told The Associated Press on Tuesday that gangs set fire to 25 homes and killed two government employees including his cousin, who served as his security detail.
“The atrocity of this crime reminds us that we have to continue working stronger every day to bring peace to the community,” Massillon said. “I’m optimistic that the state will continue working to eradicate the gangs in Kenscoff.”
Gangs are coveting Kenscoff because it allows them to surround and control the upscale community of Pétion-Ville and alternate routes connecting Haiti's capital to its southern region, said María Fernanda Arocha, a researcher with the nonprofit Armed Conflict Location & Event Data.
Between January and August this year, security operations had managed to reduce violence in Kenscoff by 66% prior to the attack, she said in a statement.
“While security forces have concentrated their efforts on operations aimed at regaining control in the central areas of Port-au-Prince, criminal groups have instead sought to expand into rural communities that are vulnerable due to the limited response capacity of the police, but which remain strategic hubs,” she added.
Some survivors accused the government of not providing enough protection prior to the attack, with Haiti’s National Police rejecting those accusations.
Le Cour said that if police and armored vehicles were indeed stationed in Kenscoff prior to the attack, then the assertion is concerning: “You let the gangs come in even if you had everything in place?”
Haiti's National Police issued a statement Tuesday saying Paraison ordered an investigation to establish the truth about the attack “whether due to complicity or negligence.” He also ordered additional specialized units to the area, saying “It is an obligation to protect the civilian population.”
Armed men control an estimated 70% of Port-au-Prince and swaths of land in Haiti’s central region and beyond.
Gang violence has displaced a record 1.5 million people across Haiti, where more than 3,050 people were reported killed from January to June, according to U.N. statistics released Tuesday.
The U.N. noted that nearly 800 rapes were reported from April to June, with 87% of those cases representing collective rapes.
At least 81 people also were reported kidnapped during that time period, according to a new U.N. report.
“These figures represent only a portion of the total number of people kidnapped,” it stated. “In many cases, victims’ relatives do not report kidnappings to the police or service providers and choose to negotiate directly with the kidnappers, believing that this approach allows for a quicker release and avoids possible reprisals.”
The number of kidnappings reported from April to June represents a more than 40% increase compared with the previous quarter.
Coto reported from San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
People look at the body of a person who was killed during a gang attack in the Kenscoff neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
People watch as the bodies of their relatives who were killed in a gang attack are carried away by morgue workers in the Kenscoff neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
Women cry at the site where their relatives were killed in a gang attack in the Kenscoff neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
People gather next to the bodies of people they said were their relatives and were killed in a gang attack in the Kenscoff neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
