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France Are Through To The Final Of The World Cup After Beating Belgium 1-0

France Are Through To The Final Of The World Cup After Beating Belgium 1-0

France were victorious as they beat Belgium 1-0 in the semi-final stage of the World Cup in Russia

Rebecca Shepherd

Rebecca Shepherd

France are through to the World Cup final after they beat Belgium 1-0 in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

They will play the winner of tomorrow's second semi-final match between England and Croatia.

France controlled the early tempo of the game but Belgium had more possession in the earlier stages.

There were some great saves during the first 45 minutes with France having their first attempt on goal as Blaise Matuidi fired a strong effort towards Belgian goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois.

At 21 minutes in Belgium took a corner which fell to Tottenham Hotspur's Toby Alderweireld, who swiftly turned to take his shot leading to a superb save from French keeper and Tottenham team-mate Hugo Lloris.

Hugo Lloris.
PA

France started to liven up, creating a number of opportunities but Belgium looked the more dangerous side.

France had their best chance with less than 10 minutes of the first half to go. Speedy Kylian Mbappé flicked a pass through for Benjamin Pavard, who attempted to tuck the ball into the far corner.

Mbappé turned out to be the man of the moment with people commenting on how quick he was throughout the match.

King Philippe of Belgium, President of France, Emmanuel Macron, and Belgium Foreign Minister, Didier Reyndersall, were in attendance and enjoying each other's company up in the VIP box.

PA

According to The Mirror, nine of the last 12 semi-finals have been 0-0 at half-time. And this game followed suit.

That stayed the case until France took the lead with a thunderous header from Barcelona centre-back, Samuel Umtiti.

PA
Samuel Umtiti celebrated France's 1-0 lead.
PA

The first yellow card of the game was issued to Belgium's Eden Hazard, who pulls Matuidi to ground to prevent a France counter-attack and shortly following was Alderweireld who picked up Belgium's second booking.

Belgium continued to throw men forward as they chased an equalising goal but the defence from Les Bleus was standing firm.

Eden Hazard pushing for an equaliser.
PA

With 10 minutes to go and time running out for Belgium, they were certainly unlucky not to win a free-kick after Olivier Giroud brings Hazard to ground but the ref waved for the match to continue.

Alex Witsel fired a stinging shot to Lloris who punched the ball away from the net.

Following the victory, France will play the winner of tomorrow's game between England and Croatia.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: SPORT, Belgium, Entertainment, Croatia, Final, England, World Cup, France