World Cup: France’s extra experience puts them in final over Belgium

France show off their talent in Saint Petersburg to make their third World Cup final. Belgium will attempt to take home the bronze on Saturday.

France defeated Belgium 1-0 in Saint Petersburg in the World Cup semifinal. Les Bleus are through to the World Cup final and are a win away from adding a second star to their crest. The winning goal came from a Samuel Umtiti header in the 51st minute off a corner. The World Cup of set pieces continued with Umtiti getting an open header in the box. Toby Alderweireld was not goal side of him and no one was standing on the near post.

France will play in their third World Cup final. They won their first one in Paris in 1998 by defeating Brazil 3-0. They last made the final in 2006 when they lost to Italy on penalties in Berlin at the Olympiastadion. Didier Deschamps and France will be the favorites against Croatia or England in Moscow on Sunday.

The unsung heroism of the French defense

For the first time since 1998, three French defenders have scored a goal in a World Cup. All three defenders goals (Pavard, Varane, and Umtiti) have come in the three knockout games. Besides the bonus of goals from the French defenders, their play has been spectacular in the back. Varane man marked Lukaku all game while Lucas Hernandez was making runs forward from the left wing.

To add to the French backline, the midfield duo of Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante defended incredibly in the semifinal win. Kante is always three steps ahead of his opponents and is either in front of the ball or behind the ball to win it back. Pogba took a more defensive role today and was in the box interrupting crosses from Nacer Chadli or Kevin De Bruyne.

The one improvement the French need for the final is more out of their frontline. Blaise Matuidi doesn’t look healthy enough to play in the final after subbing off late against Belgium, meaning Tolisso would be the likely replacement for him. Mbappe found space moving forward but Griezmann has been stopped this tournament and wasn’t in the box getting shots.

This loss adds maturity to the Belgians

For a team to be successful, they need to lose a little bit before taking the big leap forward. This World Cup was a big leap for Belgium. They just lacked the calmness and confidence on the ball and played against a much more experienced team in France. Belgium is only gonna get better in the next two years before they enter Euro 2020 as one of the top favorites to win it all.

Next: Lukaku emerging as a leader

Roberto Martinez went with a similar line-up to the one he played against Brazil and it didn’t work. Belgium rarely had a player in midfield to receive passes with Fellaini wandering around the box and Chadli just had an off day with his crosses. One set-piece is the difference between playing for a trophy and playing for a bronze medal. Belgium will be back really soon.