Two sides that have shown no shortage of attacking prowess will meet on Tuesday, as France and Belgium collide in the first World Cup semifinal match.
France is coming off of a convincing 2-0 victory over Uruguay, while Belgium is fresh off an impressive 2-1 win against tournament favorite Brazil.
France Favored to Win Second World Cup Title
With most of the other pre-tournament favorites out of the running, France is now considered the team to beat. Ladbrokes has installed France as a 2/1 pick to win the World Cup for a second time – the only other victory coming in 1998, when they hosted the tournament.
The French did nearly pick up a second title in 2006, when they lost to Italy in a penalty shootout in the final. Since then, France has failed to advance past the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, this is only Belgium’s second appearance in the semifinals, having previously reached the final four in 1986, when they were eliminated by Argentina before falling to France 4-2 in the third-place playoff – the last time these two teams played a competitive match.
Both sides have been on a roll in Russia. France did surrender a draw to Denmark at the end of the group stage, but is otherwise unblemished, while Belgium has won all five of its matches – though they did have to survive a scare when they fell behind 2-0 in the second half of their round of 16 match against Japan.
Both Sides Built to Score
Belgium in particular has shown an ability to attack against just about anyone, having scored 14 goals in their five matches. France hasn’t been tepid either: they were able to find the net four times against Argentina, and showed plenty of attacking flair in their win over Uruguay as well.
In short, both of these teams can score, meaning fans could be treated to a barrage of goals on Tuesday.
“They attack very fast,” French manager Didier Deschamps said at a press conference on Monday. “So I’ve made sure that my players are prepared for any scenarios from the beginning of the match.”
On the other hand, both goalkeepers have been sharp throughout the tournament. But French forward Olivier Giroud had a message for Belgian keeper Thibaut Courtois, who plays with him at Chelsea.
“I intend to score past Courtois on Tuesday,” Giroud told reporters. “I hope it’s my time to score. I’ve been trying to make space for my teammates and play for them, I haven’t scored but I’ve been involved in three team goals.”
According to Belgium manager Roberto Martinez, his team can beat France, provided they come into the match with the right mindset.
“This group has to play with no fear at all,” Martinez told ESPN. “To play without fear would probably be the one thing which would help us the most.”
It may be easy for Belgium to play fearlessly. Their golden generation of talent is now unbeaten in their last 23 international games, and have only been held scoreless once in that stretch while averaging over three goals a match.
Still, they’ll come in as underdogs against a French side that has been led by 19-year-old Kylian Mbappe, who scored two goals against Argentina and has emerged as the favorite to win the Golden Ball, given to the best player of the tournament.
But oddsmakers expect a close match. France is an 8/11 pick to advance to the final, while Belgium can be backed at even money to go through.
