​Members of the Spain men’s national soccer team won’t sing lyrics during the playing of the country’s national anthem before its game against France in the FIFA Men’s World Cup semifinal at 3 p.m. ET Tuesday, July 14.That’s because the anthem, The Royal March, has no lyrics.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement”Marcha Real” was composed in 1761 and written as a military march for the Spanish Infantry, according to classicfm.com. Lyrics were written by a fascist during the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco. But like the dictatorship, the lyrics did not survive.They were dropped after Franco died and as Spain transitioned from dictatorship to democracy. Subsequent efforts to write new lyrics failed.Plácido Domingo, the Spanish opera singer, was supposed to debut lyrics at an Olympic Committee gala in 2008, according to the worldatlas.com. But fierce resistance derailed the plan.1 / 13Spain’s Lamine Yamal in action during the World Cup with Portugal’s Nuno Mendes and Renato Veiga in Arlington, Texas, on July 6, 2026.He became the youngest player to score a World Cup goal since Pelé in 1958.(Tim Heitman, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters)World Atlas reports Paulino Cubero, then a 52-year-old unemployed engineer who wrote the lyrics, lamented, “These are the miseries of our country.”AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOther countries with anthems that lack lyrics include Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and San Marino. But Spain is the only one of those countries still vying for the FIFA World Cup Trophy.This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Spain has no national anthem lyrics to sing at World Cup semifinal vs. France. Here’s why