France: First 2018 FIFA World Cup Finalist

France in the World Cup Final

France imposed themselves over the Belgian Golden Generation to move into the tournament finals.

First Half

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The first half of the game had a blazing start. France went quickly into the attack aided by their speed. Belgium showed good defense during the opening minutes as they made it impossible for France to score an early goal. Belgium then settled in the pitch and the game changed drastically.

The Belgian XI gained possession of the ball and lowered the pace of play. Their slow but steady offense backed France into their defensive zone. While the French did a good job at men coverage, they looked shaky carrying the ball. They over-complicated passes on their own half of the field, thus, giving Belgium even more offensive chances.

It took France some time to crack Belgium’s defense, nonetheless, they picked up the pace as the half hour mark arrived. Once France took control of the ball they game became a Box To Box kind of the game. Both Hugo Lloris and Thibaut Courtois shined in between the goal posts.

France and Belgium headed to halftime with the score still intact and the game still up for grabs.

Second Half

The second half opened up with a bang as France made its presence felt.

Samuel Umtiti opened up the scoring with a header off a corner kick.

France was up by one at the 50th minute of play.

The French squad controlled the pace of play in the minutes following the opening goal. They were close to scoring their second goal aided by good collective football and players like Antoine Griezmann and Olivier Giroud. As the clock kept ticking Belgium cranked their offensive game up a notch.

The Red Devils regained control of the ball as the hour mark arrived. They showed good ball movement playing wide and had dangerous chances off crosses. Despite their numerous chances, they had no finish to their plays. Men like Kevin De Bruyne and Romelo Lukaku could not find the back of the net.

Even worst for Belgium was the fact that they became desperate as the game neared the end. With desperation came repetitiveness, making it easier for the French defense to defend.

France came out with the win after 90 minutes of play. The final score read 1-0

 Les Bleus are into the World Cup Final. They now await for an opponent from the England v Croatia match.

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Antoine GriezmannBelgiumCroatiaEnglandFIFAFIFA World Cup FinalsFranceHugo LlorisKevin De BruyneOlivier GiroudRomelo LukakuSamuel UmtitiSemi FinalsSoccerThibaut CourtoisWorld Cup