France vs Belgium: 6 key players to watch out for from both sides

Antoine Griezmann

France v Belgium: Semi Final - Pre-match events - 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia

Griezmann covered 44 Kilometres, had 14 attempts on goal, 8 of them on target, the highest in the team. He also scored 3 goals, attempting 176 passes, completing 127 of them. Griezmann likes to roam behind the main striker and drops back to create space for midfield runners.

However, what comes as a surprise is that he has the joint highest tackles of the team, 8, which shows that he likes to press even higher up on the pitch, something that is integral to the way France play. He has delivered 7 balls into the penalty area, attempted 12 crosses and dribbled once into the penalty box. He also won the ball back 7 times. Interestingly, France has never lost a game in which Griezmann has scored, winning 18 and drawing 2.

Kylian Mbappe

The teenage sensation rocked the world with his brace against Argentina. Mbappe has covered 34.2 Kilometres in the tournament so far. He is arguably a faster version of Hazard, but his team will be hoping for a bit more composure from him. His play-acting abilities have come to the fore in recent games, and if he is not careful, Belgium could use that to their advantage.

Mbappe had 6 attempts on goal so far, 5 of them on target and scored 3 goals. He attempted 115 passes, completing 87 of them. He delivered the ball 5 times into the penalty area, attempted 8 crosses and dribbled 4 times into the penalty area. His speed will be a headache for the Belgium defence and after a quiet game against Uruguay, he will be determined to stamp his authority now.