2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia June 14 - July 15,2018 - SF 01 France Vs Belgium At St Petersburg Stadium Tuesday July 10,2018

The 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia June 14- July 15,2018 will be the 21st edition

FIFA World Cup  Winners from 1930 to 2014

Year	Host Country	Winner	Score
2014	Brazil	Germany	Germany beat Argentina 1-0
2010	South Africa	Spain	Spain 1-0 Netherlands
2006	Germany	Italy	Italy 1-1 (5-3) France
2002	Japan / S. Korea	Brazil	Brazil 2-0 Germany
1998	France	France	France 3-0 Brazil
1994	US	Brazil	Brazil 3-2 Italy
1990	Italy	Germany	Germany 1-0 Argentina
1986	Mexico	Argentina	Argentina 3-2 Germany
1982	Spain	Italy	Italy 3-1 Germany
1978	Argentina	Argentina	Argentina 3-1 Holland
1974	Germany	Germany	Germany 2-1 Holland
1970	Mexico	Brazil	Brazil 4-1 Italy
1966	England	England	England 4-2 Germany
1962	Chile	Brazil	Brazil 3-1 Czechoslovakia
1958	Sweden	Brazil	Brazil 5-2 Sweden
1954	Switzerland	Germany	Germany 3-2 Hungary
1950	Brazil	Uruguay	Uruguay 2-1 Brazil
1946	not held
1942	not held
1938	France	Italy	Italy 4-2 Hungary
1934	Italy	Italy	Italy 2-1 Czechoslovakia
1930	Uruguay	Uruguay	Uruguay 4-2 Argentina

This will be the first World Cup held in Europe since the 2006 FIFA WC held in Germany,the first ever to be held in Eastern Europe and the 11th time that it has been held in Europe.

2018 FIFA World Cup tournament will involve 32 national teams, which include 31 teams determined through Qualifying Competitions  and the automatically qualified Host Team - Russia

Of the 32 teams, 20 will be making back-to-back appearances following the last tournament in 2014, including defending champions  Germany

Iceland and Panama will both be making their first appearances at the 2018 FIFA WC in Russia.

A total of 64 matches will be played in 12 venues located in 11 cities

 

 

 SF 01 France Vs Belgium Match Preview

France Road To SF's

• beat Australia 2-1 in the Group Stage
• beat Peru 1-0 in the Group Stage
• drew with Denmark 0-0 in the Group Stage
• beat Argentina 4-3 in the Round of 16
• beat Uruguay 2-0 in the QF's

 Belgium Road To SF's

beat Panama 3-0 in the Group Stage

beat Tunisia 5-2 in the Group Stage

beat England 1-0 in the Group Stage

beat Japan 3-2 in the Round of 16

beat Brazil 2-1 in the QF's

Eden Hazard and a brilliant Belgian generation stand between France and a place in the World Cup final as the countries bring their historic rivalry to Tuesday's first semi-final in Saint Petersburg.

Not since 1986 have Belgium made it this far at the World Cup, losing to a Diego Maradona-inspired Argentina in Mexico and then going down 4-2 to France in the third-place play-off, the last competitive meeting of the nations.

In the years since, France have won one World Cup and one European Championship, and lost the 2006 World Cup final. Now, with Kylian Mbappe their new standard-bearer, they are dreaming of getting there again.

Belgium disappeared from the forefront of the international scene for years before emerging once more with their current gifted crop.

With Hazard, Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne, they lost in the 2014 World Cup quarter-finals and at the same stage at Euro 2016, but under Roberto Martinez in Russia they have already taken an extra step after stunning Brazil in the last eight in Kazan.

The French will remember well what happened when the teams last met, with Belgium tearing them apart in a 4-3 friendly win in Paris in June 2015.

France beat Belgium 1-0 to qualify for the final

France qualified for the 2018 World Cup final with a 1-0 win over Belgium in Saint Petersburg. Samuel Umtiti headed in a corner swung in by Antoine Griezmann in the 51st-minute to give France the lead.

They managed to shut out Belgium after that and will now face either England or Croatia in Moscow’s Luzhniki stadium on Sunday.


Didier Deschamps’ side started the match on the backfoot with Belgium hitting them with wave after wave of attacks. Belgium was missing influential full back Thomas Meunier due to his suspension and had replaced him with Moussa Dembele. The heavily loaded Belgian midfield seemed to overwhelm the French in the early exchanges and the latter were struggling to get a touch on the ball. But they picked up pace and started asking serious questions of their own in the latter half of the first 45 minutes and it was 0-0 at half-time.

Despite all the attacks, it was once again a set-piece that proved decisive with Umtiti’s near-post header giving France the lead. Belgium brought on the likes of Dries Mertens and loaded the box

Romelu Lukaku, who was starved of deliveries in the first half, couldn’t convert the chances he got in the second half due to France’s staunch defending. Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard made repeated forrays into the French box but the combination of Raphael Varane, goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and defensive midfielder Blaise Matuidi kept them out. Matuidi had to be subbed off after a sickening collision with Hazard.

Belgium took early control of midfield with France content to sit deep and eliminate the threat of counter-attacks Hazard and De Bruyne.

But it was by no means a purely negative approach as the French offered their own danger on the break, perfectly illustrated when Paul Pogba’s delivery sent Kylian Mbappe racing towards goal and Belgium were thankful their keeper 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 Huge Lloris’s far post.

Hazard was dangerous again moments later when he cut in from the left and unleashed a rasping drive which 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.

Fellaini flashed a header just wide and Axel Witsel forced a good save out of Lloris as Belgium pushed forward for an equaliser and France hung on in six minutes of stoppage-time to reach their third World Cup final
This was Belgium manager Roberto Martinez’s first competitive defeat as Belgium manager. He said after that match that there he was disappointed that they were done in by a set-piece.