Before this game even started I said that the winner would be the eventual World Cup winner. I still stand by that. Sure, Croatia and England are playing well, and that should be a good game, but Francea and Belgium just have IT. Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne, and Romelu Lukaku have been just as good as Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappé, and Olivier Giroud. Belgium probably has been better because Olivier Giroud sucks.
Right off the kickoff, France got something going through Mbappé's speed. After that, it was all Belgium for the next twenty or so minutes. They dominated the ball possession, but Lukaku just couldn't get involved. He probably didn't have a good touch until the end of the first half. It would continue to be a problem for Lukaku. France came to life at about the twenty-five minute mark and then the teams went back and forth for the rest of the game. The awful Olivier Giroud continued to be awful. How can someone who is supposedly so good not be able to get a good touch on a ball? Legit, Girould should have scored three goals himself. I have to believe that Ousmane Dembélé would have done better. At 51, Samuel Umtiti got his head on a corner kick and put it in the net. That's all France needed. Both teams threatened for the rest of the game, but great goalkeeping by Thibaut Courtois and Hugo Lloris kept the ball out of the net. I would say both keepers could have been Man of the Match.
France moves onto the World Cup final. I still see them taking it all. Belgium goes to the worthless Third Place game. Why do they still have it? France will surely be watching Croatia v England. Whomever wins, France has the pace and skill to beat them, even with Olivier Giroud continuing to get playing time.