France vs Belgium Preview

 Tuesday 10th July - France vs Belgium

Griezmann and Mbappe have proven to be a lethal
partnership throughout the tournament, both finding the 
back of the net on three occasions

The World Cup Semi-Finals kick off tonight with the 1998 winners France taking on a Belgium side who are aiming to reach their first ever World Cup Final. Their previous best performance was reaching this stage back in 1986 in which Diego Maradona bagged a brace to send them to the 3rd/4th playoff match in which they were defeated by France 4-2 (the last time these two sides faced each other at a World Cup).

            Their routes to the Semi-Finals

Romelu Lukaku celebrates after Belgium book their
place in a World Cup Semi-Final for the second time
in their history

France didn't look the most convincing in the group stages, battling to 2-1 win against a resilient Australian side and in their second game of the tournament, a tap in for Mbappe in the 34th minute proved to be enough to see off Peru. A 0-0 draw with Denmark sparked worries about this French side, but those worries have quickly disappeared in the knockout stages as they put Argentina to the sword in a    4-3 win. That game was where we saw the true devastation that their attack can do to a defence. Spearheaded by the front three of Griezmann, Giroud, Mbappe, they have the perfect balance of pace and power and it shows. With Giroud's unselfishness, and prowess in holding the ball up, he understands his supportive role perfectly, bringing both his strike partners into play and creating space for them to burst into by bullying defenders. Mbappe showed his incredible and finishing ability in that game, but in the quarter-finals it was Griezmann who stole the show, putting in a pinpoint delivery for Varane to head home before being given the the biggest gift he'll receive in his career as Muslera squandered his shot as France saw off Uruguay comfortably winning 2-0 to reach this stage.

Belgium on the other hand have looked mighty throughout this tournament. Winning 3-0 over Panama to kick off the tournament and following that up with a 5-2 demolition job over Tunisia, they'd already cemented themselves as a threat in this World Cup. They saw off England in the battle of the B teams, courtesy of a wonder strike from Januzaj. What they've shown in the knockout stages is resilience and togetherness, nothing highlights this more than their Round of 16 tie vs Japan. They found themselves 2-0 down with 52 minutes played. Two headers in the space of five minutes from Vertonghen and Fellaini saw Belgium back in it, before with less than 20 seconds left to spare, the quickest counter attack you'll ever see saw Chadli break Japanese hearts. They took the counter attacking style into their quarter final vs Brazil and it worked to perfection, a lucky own goal puts them 1-0 ahead before Lukaku tees up De Bruyne who fires home to double the advantage. They held onto a 2-1 win which has seen confidence reach an all time high for Belgium's golden generation.

How will both sides approach the game?

From the French perspective, I expect to see them try to have the majority of possession and try to maintain on the front foot throughout the game. They're going to have a fine balance between attack and defence with Pogba, Griezmann, Mbappe, Giroud having freedom to attack, with both full backs being given full license to bomb up the wing and attack their opposite number. Having Kante and the returning Matuidi sat covering provides the perfect that has made this team one for everyone to fear. They're both completely unselfish and willing to do the dirty work in order to get the result. At the back, they've looked suspect at times, but, there's a real belief in this team with how they play. They're going to try exploit long balls in behind, trying to catch out the Belgium back three with the pace of Mbappe and to be fair to Pogba, he's performed very well in this World Cup in this playmaker role and I expect him to be a key component in the outcome of this match. What's scary about them, is they don't only have to play long balls exploiting pace, but this squad possesses the technical ability to keep the ball on the deck and work round a team, with Griezmann, Mbappe and Pogba all possessing incredible ball control and they have the perfect striker to link up with in Giroud, who will sit on the back line and hold up play or do one of those cute little flicks around the corner to catch the defence off. Aerially this team is strong, with both centre halfs and Giroud providing dominance in this regard. The quality of set piece deliveries from Griezmann will be paramount.

On the Belgian front, I expect to see them play in a similar counter attacking style that they adopted in the Brazil game. They can soak up the pressure because with the experience they have in the spine of this team. They have plenty of aerial presence and some of the strongest players you could hope for so dealing with set pieces shouldn't be too big of an issue for them, in fact set pieces should be this side's biggest asset in this game. The fluidity of Hazard, De Bruyne and Lukaku on the counter is a joy to watch. Lukaku's movement is second to none and even though he hasn't found the back of the net since the Tunisia game, he's been a constant thorn in the side for defences. With France's full backs likely to bomb forward, he's got to be clever to escape from the clutches of Kante and Matuidi and exploit the space out wide, dragging someone out of position in order to create space for De Bruyne and Hazard, who will have task of doing the same role when needed. They're going to have be a bit more direct than their opposition, especially if both Fellaini and Witsel start, because technically, they don't have anywhere near the ability of De Bruyne or Hazard. Belgium are going to miss Meunier, who has been absolutely quality in that RWB role throughout this tournament. I expect to see Chadli used in this role whereas Carrasco will find himself back out in the LWB role, which Martinez has opted to use him at wing back in prior matches, rather than a tactical change to four at the back being implemented. That does put more of an emphasis on Fellaini/Witsel dropping back when Carrasco bombs forward.

Key Battles

Kante vs Hazard - The battle of the Chelsea teammates is probably the most key match-up in this semi-final. If Kante can nullify the effect of his club counterpart then it will massively decrease the Belgian threat in the final third and will force them to go long to Lukaku, which should play into Varane and Umtiti's hands.

Lukaku vs Hernandez & Pavard - Lukaku will be constantly trying to exploit the space that either full-back leaves or constantly look to pick a fight with these two, due to him being equally as quick and stronger than both of them. Both French full-backs have to pick their moments to bomb forward, and if France take a 1-0 lead, they have to be disciplined enough to stay compact at the back and not make any stupid mistakes.

Lloris vs Courtois - This game will likely come down to which keeper makes a mistake, both could have spells where they're constantly under pressure with set pieces or needing to pull off a double save. Both have had superb tournaments, and although neither keeper had the greatest season club wise, they've both made quality saves in this tournament. They're both going to have to be on the top of the game, because there are plenty of players on the pitch who could just hit an unsuspecting shot from 30 yards towards the top corners, and mentally, both should be prepared for this one to go all the way to penalties.

France predicted line-up: Hugo Lloris, Lucas Hernandez, Raphael Varane, Samuel Umtiti, Benjamin Pavard, Ngolo Kante, Blaise Matuidi, Paul Pogba, Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe, Olivier Giroud.

Belgium predicted line-up: Thibaut Courtois, Jan Vertonghen, Vincent Kompany, Toby Alderwiereld, Nacer Chadli, Axel Witsel, Marouane Fellaini, Yannick Carrasco, Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku.

Score Prediction: France 2-1 Belgium (AET) - France's quality will shine through. Their attacking prowess will pay off with Griezmann and Mbappe getting on the scoresheet, and defensively they'll hold on just about to break Belgian hearts yet again. Really wouldn't be surprised to see this go to penalties though, should be a thrilling end to end game with chances galore.

The England vs Croatia preview will be released at 18:30 tomorrow. Thanks for reading!