Samuel Umtiti’s 51st-minute header on Tuesday sent France into the FIFA World Cup final with a ruthless 1-0 win over Belgium in an absorbing first semi-final.
Didier Deschamps’ side is on Sunday to face England or Croatia in Moscow as France look to lift the trophy for the second time following their triumph on home soil in 1998.
In an enthralling, albeit highly tactical rather than incident-packed, match, it was once again a set-piece that proved decisive with Umtiti’s near-post header from an Antoine Griezmann corner settling matters.
Photo: AP
Having gained the lead, France showed their defensive skill to nullify the threat from Belgium’s Eden Hazard and Kevin de Bruyne, closing out the game for a win that sent them to their second straight major tournament final, following their loss to Portugal in Euro 2016.
It had been suggested that France needed to step up a level in quality to get past Belgium and they did just that even if their disciplined, professional performance hardly set pulses racing.
However, the worrying factor for Croatia or England is that France still look to have another gear to move into.
Deschamps, coach at Euro 2016 and captain of the 1998 World Cup winners, suggested as much.
“We showed character and mentality, it was very hard for us tonight. We worked hard defensively, we needed to take advantage a bit more in the counterattacks, but congratulations to my players and my staff,” he said.
Belgium manager Roberto Martinez was left frustrated by his team missing out to a set-piece goal, a familiar outcome in this tournament.
“Unfortunately for us the difference was a dead-ball situation. The game was very close, very tight, and it was going to be decided by a little bit of luck in front of goal,” he said.
Belgium took early control of the midfield with France content to sit deep and eliminate the counterattacks of Hazard and De Bruyne.
However, it was by no means a purely negative approach as France offered their own danger on the break. This was perfectly illustrated when Paul Pogba’s delivery sent Kylian Mbappe racing toward the goal and Belgium were thankful that their goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was alert to snuff out the danger.
The first real opening came in the 16th minute when De Bruyne hooked the ball into the path of Hazard, whose shot was just wide of Hugo Lloris’ far post.
Hazard was dangerous again moments later when he cut in from the left and unleashed a rasping drive that clipped off the back of Raphael Varane and just over the bar.
From a Belgium corner, Toby Alderweireld tested Lloris with a smart shot on the turn, but as the half progressed, France began to create more.
Olivier Giroud flashed a header just wide and Mbappe set up Benjamin Pavard, whose low shot was kept out by the outstretched leg of Courtois.
It was a fascinating first half and all that was missing was a goal, but one came soon after the break.
From Griezmann’s corner, Umtiti beat Marouane Fellaini at the near post and powered a header home to put France ahead.
Martinez brought on Dries Merteens for Moussa Dembele in an attempt to liven up his attack, but France were focused purely on frustrating Belgium’s creative pair.
With Ngolo Kante marshalling the effort, France were on De Bruyne and Hazard like a flash, eliminating the slightest opportunity for them to probe the defense.
The nearest Belgium came to a leveler was a header from Fellaini that flashed just wide and a fierce strike from distance by Axel Witsel that the impressive Lloris parried away.
France can begin to prepare for the final at Luzhniki Stadium, eager to avoid a repeat of 2006 when they were beaten by Italy on penalties in Berlin and the pain of the loss to Portugal on home soil in 2016.
“Two years ago — I remember what happened two years ago,” Deschamps said. “We will go into this final to win it as we have still not gotten over the [2016] final.”
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB