Why Spain received penalty kick after bad Lucas Digne foul on Lamine Yamal in France semifinal

Spain and France kicked off the World Cup semifinals on Tuesday afternoon, and it was France that made the first big mistake.

Lamine Yamal successfully drew a penalty kick in France's box by challenging the defense on a 50-50 ball. Spain has been stingy on defense all tournament, allowing just one goal in six games, so every goal for the team means that much more.

While defenders often question foul calls, there didn't seem to be much debate that Lamine Yamal was fouled right before the hydration break. France hadn't trailed all tournament, but quickly faced a 1-0 deficit because of the defensive mistake.

Here's why Spain was awarded a penalty kick in the first half against France.

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Why Spain was given penalty kick vs. France

In the 19th minute of action, Spain's Lamine Yamal drew a penalty in the penalty box on France defender Lucas Digne. France had control of the ball in their own end, but Lamine Yamal's pressure led to Digne kicking him in the thigh without realizing he was coming.

Lamine Yamal draws the contact and it's a PENALTY AWARDED TO SPAIN 🚨 pic.twitter.com/SCDqGCy5do

Digne was caught ball-watching on the play and clearly never saw Yamal challenging him for the ball. There was no question that Digne fouled Lamine Yamal, an early mistake for an otherwise stellar France team.

Another look at the Lucas Digne challenge on Lamine Yamal that resulted in a Spain penalty pic.twitter.com/cfwNX5QFbo

As a result, Spain had a penalty kick with a chance to score the first goal of the match. It was Mikel Oyarzabal who took the PK, and he buried the goal for his fifth score of the tournament.

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