World Cup 2018, France vs Belgium: Preview, Team News, Head-to-Head & Key Stats

The first semi-final of 2018 FIFA World Cup promises to be a riveting encounter as France come up against Belgium on Tuesday.

Determined France will look to advance to the finals for the third time in their history. France have reached the FIFA World Cup Final on the previous two occasions (1998 and 2006). Meanwhile, Belgium would hope to enter their first ever FIFA World Cup Final.

France vs Belgium Team News

Blaise Matuidi of France is expected to make a comeback to the playing XI after serving a one-match ban against Uruguay in the quarter-finals. Thus, it looks all set for France as they meet Belgium in the semi-finals.

Belgium faces a real bugbear ahead of the crucial tie against France as Thomas Meunier is set to miss the semi-final

France vs Belgium - Where to Watch and Match Information

Date: 10 July 2018, Tuesday

Kickoff Time: 23:30 IST, 18:00 GMT, 21:00 LOCAL

Venue: Saint Petersburg Stadium, St. Petersburg, Russia

Where to Watch: Sony LIV, Sony ESPN, Sony Ten 2, Sony Ten 3

Expected Crowd Turnout: With a FIFA World Cup semi-final on the cards, France vs Belgium encounter is expected to be a jam-packed affair with a total crowd attendance of 64,500.

Head-to-head in World Cups

France 2 - 0 Belgium. This will be the only third encounter between France and Belgium at FIFA World Cup. France leads the tally with two wins.

France FIFA 2018 WC Squad:

Goalkeepers: Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur), Steve Mandanda (Marseille), and Alphonse Areola (Paris Saint-Germain).

Defenders: Lucas Hernandez (Atletico Madrid), Presnel Kimpembe (Paris Saint-Germain), Benjamin Mendy (Manchester City), Benjamin Pavard (Stuttgart), Adil Rami (Marseille), Djibril Sidibe (Monaco), Samuel Umtiti (Barcelona), and Raphael Varane (Real Madrid).

Midfielders: N'Golo Kante (Chelsea), Blaise Matuidi (Juventus), Steven N'Zonzi (Sevilla), Paul Pogba (Manchester United), and Corentin Tolisso (Bayern Munich).

Forwards: Ousmane Dembele (Barcelona), Nabil Fekir (Lyon), Olivier Giroud (Chelsea), Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid), Thomas Lemar (Monaco), Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain), and Florian Thauvin (Marseille).

France's Probable Starting XI

Hugo Lloris, Lucas Hernandez, Samuel Umtiti, Raphael Varane, Benjamin Pavard, Ngolo Kante, Paul Pogba, Blaise Matuidi, Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe, and Olivier Giroud.

Belgium FIFA 2018 WC Squad:

Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea), Simon Mignolet (Liverpool), and Koen Casteels (VfL Wolfsburg).

Defenders: Toby Alderweireld (Tottenham), Thomas Meunier (Paris Saint-Germain), Thomas Vermaelen (Barcelona), Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham), Dedryck Boyata (Celtic), and Vincent Kompany (Manchester City).

Midfielders: Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United), Axel Witsel (Tianjin Quanjian), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Nacer Chadli (West Bromwich Albion), Leander Dendoncker (Anderlecht), Thorgan Hazard (Borussia Moenchengladbach), Youri Tielemans (Monaco), and Mousa Dembele (Tottenham Hotspur).

Forwards: Michy Batshuayi (Chelsea/Dortmund), Yannick Carrasco (Dalian Yifang), Adnan Januzaj (Real Sociedad), Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United), and Dries Mertens (Napoli).

Belgium's Probable Starting XI

Thibaut Courtois, Jan Vertonghen, Vincent Kompany, Thomas Vermaelen, Toby Alderweireld, Yannick Carrasco, Axel Witsel, Kevin De Bruyne, Nacer Chadli, Eden Hazard, and Romelu Lukaku.

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France vs Belgium Stats

- Till date, France and Belgium have met 73 times. Out of these encounters, France have won 24, Belgium have won 30 while rest have ended in a draw.

- The last time when France and Belgium simultaneously made it to the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup was in 1986.

- Belgium have remained unbeaten in their last ten World Cup matches.

- France have won six of their last seven matches at FIFA World Cup.

- Ever since 1958 FIFA World Cup when Pele netted six goals, Kylian Mbappe of France is the highest scoring (3 goals) teen in a FIFA World Cup.

- Of late, Antoine Griezmann of France have enjoyed a decent record in knock-out stages of major tournaments. In his six last knock-out games, Antoine has netted seven goals.

France vs Belgium Prediction

Predicted scoreline: France 1-2 Belgium