​Why Spain received penalty kick after bad Lucas Digne foul on Lamine Yamal in France semifinal originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.Spain and France kicked off the World Cup semifinals on Tuesday afternoon, and it was France that made the first big mistake.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementLamine 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.2026 WORLD CUP HQ:Latest World Cup news | Full World Cup schedule | Buy World Cup ticketsAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIn 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.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.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.MORE WORLD CUP NEWS:Printable World Cup bracketRanking remaining World Cup teams in semifinalsWorld Cup prize money breakdown