France Advances to World Cup final After Defeating Belgium

After a tough game that saw both France and Belgium duking it out in their attempts to come away victorious, it was France that got the advantage over Belgium winning 1-0 and earning the chance to be crowned World Cup Champions on Sunday.

The French team are young, play with attitude and have fought a tough battle. They advanced from the group stage, came away victorious in the round of 16, and the quarter-finals. They came face to face with Belgium in the semi-finals, and now, the only thing left to accomplish is winning the title.

For Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappe, two of Frances top players, they will get the opportunity to do just that. It was Samuel Umtiti who scored France’s only goal, and with it, saw Emmanuel Macron, the president of France nod in approval after sending a header into the net after a corner kick at the 51-minute mark.

Umtiti did his job well. Considering Belgium has the best scoring record, shutting down such a skilled team is no easy task, but Umtiti played a big part in that. For Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard, it was another opportunity lost.

Commenting post-game, Umtiti said,

“It’s me that scored, but we all delivered a big game.”

After the win and final whistle, players rushed the field and danced in celebration as fans rose in their seats well after the game came to an end. France hopes to keep those celebrations going come Sunday when the final plays out. France will face England or Croatia for the title, and for bettors, this is a prime opportunity to get your bets in as the odds will be set for Sundays final and taking a look at our list of favoured Canadian sportsbooks will give you some great odds and promotions for the big game.

#FRA WIN! @FrenchTeam are in the #WorldCupFinal! #FRABEL // #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/yPDKMKPpdt

— FIFA World Cup 🏆 (@FIFAWorldCup) July 10, 2018

The coach for France, Didier Deschamps, commenting on the chance to be in the final said,

“We’re immensely privileged to be in the World Cup final. It was so painful two years ago we have to savour it.”

Deschamps previously was player, and now as a coach, will be only the third person to have won the World Cup as a coach and player – that is if France is victorious on Sunday. The other two who achieved such a millstone was Mario Zagallo from Brazil and Franz Beckenbauer from Germany.

The organisation of the French team was excellent, and while some criticism was faced by Deschamps, it was mostly focused towards the selected players, despite putting together a team of seasoned and young players. Hugo Lloris, the goalkeeper for France, was remarkable stopping a shot by Toby Alderweireld. Considering the tournament was heavy of goals, the goal by France was set up perfectly, and they managed to capitalise on the one opportunity that came their way.

As for Coach Roberto Martinez of Belgium, he said the difference was a dead ball situation adding,

“The game was, as you can imagine, very close, very tight, and it was going to be decided on maybe the one that it could find that final touch in the box.”

This is the second time that Belgium has advanced beyond the group stage, having gone to the quarter-finals in 2014, and then again in 2016 at the European Championship. The nation seems to look strong but unable to get the job done, and while many thought this would be the year, France denied them that dream.Belgium will now compete for third place finisher. They will face England or Croatia, who play their semi-final game on Wednesday.