World Cup 2018 semi-final No.1 in Saint Petersburg promises to be an exciting one when France and Belgium take the Krestovsky Stadium pitch at 20:00 on Tuesday in a game dubbed “Final before the final”.
France vs. Belgium preview
The winner of this matchup is widely tipped to become the next World Champion. France reached this stage of the competition by getting the better of a Cavani-less Uruguay (2-0). Raphael Varane and Antoine Griezmann were the goal scorers, although Griezmann’s goal was more a consequence of Muslera misjudging the flight of the ball than him sending a shot that the Uruguayan goalkeeper couldn’t save. It was a rather comfortable win for Deschamps’ side, who is the second youngest team in the competition.
An own goal and a Kevin De Bruyne strike gave Belgium a 2-0 lead at half-time against Brazil. Tite’s men dominated for almost the entirety of the quarter-final and even though they had several opportunities to even the scoring, Roberto Martinez’s crew held on and eliminated the favourite. It was Martinez’s 24th consecutive game without a loss as Belgium’s manager, a tenure which began with a 2-0 defeat from Spain. With former France striker, Thierry Henry as an assistant coach, The Red Devils have scored 80 goals since Martinez took over and were held scoreless only once. Their 14 goals lead over all the other teams in Russia.
France vs. Belgium head-to-head history
The two neighbours have met many times through history, although most of their recent meetings have been friendlies (five total). France won one of them, Belgium won two, while the others resulted in goalless draws. Their last clash at a big tournament was in 1986 in the third-place match, a game which the French won 4-2 after extra time.
France vs. Belgium injuries and suspensions
Samuel Umtiti is dealing with a minor injury, but according to his teammate and friend Raphael Varane, he should be good to go on Tuesday.
“Sam is fine,”
“He had a little trouble yesterday after the match, but it’s something he knows how to handle.
“We know each other well and I do not worry too much about that [the injury].”
Belgium’s Thomas Meunier will miss the encounter following his second World Cup booking. Roberto Martinez doesn’t have many options at right back, so he will have to improvise with a player out of his natural position like Adnan Januzaj, Thorgan Hazard or Yannick Carrasco. He might even opt for a tactical switch in order to adapt to the circumstances.
France vs. Belgium prediction
Belgium has been at its best when Romelu Lukaku, Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne have space to operate. That occurs when their team has the lead. It happened against Brazil. Every time the Brazilians lost the ball, there was a threat on their goal posed by one of those three. N’Golo Kante becomes key here. He’s the one with the ability to stop De Bruyne’s organizational skills and prevent France’s adversary from playing its game.
Les Bleus are solid in positional play with their backs against the goal, but they’re much more dangerous when Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann receive balls in the opposition half and attack the flanks. Roberto Martinez must be aware of this and devise a solution. Otherwise, his team will be in trouble.
The Belgians showed they are capable of holding their own against supremely gifted opponents. A repeat of the performance against Brazil would be nice, but more is needed to reach a World Cup final. Deschamps’ boys are young, yet they’ve already been a part of a European Championship final, so they won’t be rattled easily. We still haven’t seen the best of Paul Pogba. He’ll need to step up if his team were to advance.
France vs. Belgium odds
