Tomorrow we get to see the first of two semifinals matchups for the World Cup 2018 in Russia. The second matchup has Croatia vs England, but the first one is what I believe, not only to be the best matchup but the showcasing of the eventual winner of the World Cup.
These two teams, Belgium and France, are absolutely loaded on offense. Striker Romelu Lukaku, Midfielder Kevin De Bruyne and Midfielder/Winger Eden Hazard lead the potent Belgium offense. Lukaku is second only to Harry Kane in total goals, while De Bruyne and Hazard have outstanding shots and dribbling skills, thus opponents cannot focus their sole attention on Lukaku.
On the other side, France too has a formidable and dynamic offense. They are lead by Midfielder Paul Pogba, Forward Kylian Mbappé and 2014 hero, Forward Antoine Griezmann. While Pogba hasn't scored yet in the tournament, he is always a threat to do so. As for Griezmann and Mbappé, both have added 3 goals a piece.
Both teams have their similarities. First off is team speed. It seems as if nobody has been able to match the foot speed of Lukaku in the tournament. He has consistently outrun his opponents on through balls and early balls. For France, Mbappé has showcased his speed, drawing two penalties on breakaways against an overmatched Argentina team.
The biggest differences is how the teams run their offense. Belgium likes to capitalize on mistakes made by their opponents, often utilizing the counter attack. The French like to control the pace, using crisp passes and setting up players like Griezmann or Giroud on set pieces. Also occasionally using the the press to catch their opponents off guard and get easy goals with Mbappé. Both teams excel at what they do and that's why this matchup is such an interesting one. So who will win the match?
I fully expect the Belgians to overcome past World Cup demons and finally find their way to the World Cup Finals. While the French would most likely defeat any other team in the tournament, the Belgians have the recipe to defeat them. There is an old verbiage that says "Speed kills". It is even more true in football. The French have speed, but Belgium is faster...and stronger... and determined. They should have lost when they went down 2 - 0 to Japan through almost 70 minutes. But their will to win took over and they quickly scored two goals, finishing off the game with a beautiful goal in stoppage time. They followed up that match to defeat one of the World Cup favorites, Brazil.
While I expect there to be at least 5 goals scored in this match, it will be the Belgians moving on to the Finals.
What do you think will happen? Let me know in the comments!
One love,
