2018 FIFA World Cup: Semi-Final; A European affair

The 2018 FIFA World Cup will definitely stay in Europe according to the programme schedule.

The four semi-finalists; France, Belgium, Croatia and England are all countries from the European Continent.

The big football tournament started off with a total of thirty-two countries from the five continents in the world.

The journey was not an easy one for some countries as they were disqualified at the group stage, others at the 16th and the 8th rounds while the big fours stayed their grounds.

Amongst the last four countries, England is the only team at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia to have lost a game at the tournament. By contrast, Belgium has won every match in normal time en route to the last four.

Croatia, the last to join the big four has won all her matches but the last two victories were recorded through penalties. France has four wins and one defeat.

France vs. Belgium

The first semi-final game will be fielded between the French “Les Blues” and Belgium “The Red Devils” at the Saint Petersburg Stadium this Tuesday 10th July 2018.

Les Bleus began their campaign with uninspiring win over Australia and Peru in Group C before lurching into the last 16 after a 0-0 to draw with Denmark.

Since then, France has been electric, scoring a combined six times in wins over Argentina and Uruguay.

Forwards Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappe have both scored twice during this run. The two young players complement one another thanks to their pace and stylish play.

Belgium will put their perfect record on the line against the Didier Deschamps’ boys in their semi-final encounter.

The Red Devils are creative with their movement, ball possession and distribution.

Having a focal point like Romelu Lukaku helps, but the ingenuity of Kevin De Bruyne often makes the difference. He scored a terrific goal against Brazil and is the most effective as a supplier.

Both squads promise goals, but football analysts say France has a greater balance.

Croatia vs. England

Croatia won every game in Group D, scoring seven goals in the process.

However, goals have been tougher to come by for the Blazers. The semi-finalist saw off both Denmark and hosts Russia on penalties.

Stylish passing is also Croatia’s forte thanks to a clutch of gifted technicians in midfield.

It is something England must overpower with pace, strength and width when the two nations meet at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on Wednesday 11th July 2018.

However, the Three Lions of Englannd do enjoy width thanks to wing-backs Ashley Young and Kieran Trippier, while Raheem Sterling stretches defences with pace.

The squad will want to bring the World Cup trophy to London at all cost with the help of Captain Harry kane, top scorer at the competition so far.

 

Benly Anchunda

Laisser un commentaire

Votre adresse e-mail ne sera pas publiée. Les champs obligatoires sont indiqués avec *

Ce site utilise Akismet pour réduire les indésirables. En savoir plus sur comment les données de vos commentaires sont utilisées.