Taking on Belgium is a Hazard for France
EDEN Hazard and a brilliant Belgian generation stand between France and a place in the World Cup final as the countries bring their historic rivalry to today’s first semifinal in St Petersburg.
Not since 1986 has Belgium made it this far at the World Cup, losing to a Diego Maradona-inspired Argentina in Mexico and then going down 2-4 to France in the third-place playoff, the last competitive meeting of the nations.
In the years since, France has won one World Cup and one European Championship, and lost the 2006 World Cup final. Now, with Kylian Mbappe its new standard-bearer, it is dreaming of getting there again.
Belgium disappeared from the forefront of the international scene for years before emerging once more with its current gifted crop.
With Hazard, Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne, it lost in the 2014 World Cup quarterfinals and at the same stage at Euro 2016, but under Roberto Martinez in Russia it has already taken an extra step after stunning Brazil in the last eight in Kazan.
“They are a great team with a very good generation of players who have been playing together for several years,” admitted France striker Olivier Giroud, who plays with Hazard and Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois at Chelsea.
“We don’t want to have them taking the mickey out of us. There is a big rivalry between France and Belgium, it’s like a derby match.”
Beyond the geographical and linguistic ties, many of these players also know each other intimately from the English Premier League.
Paul Pogba and Lukaku were already close friends before becoming colleagues at Manchester United. But Hazard sums up better than anyone the close links between the nations.
Born in the French-speaking part of Belgium, he came through as a player across the border at Lille, and was the outstanding player in the team that won the French league and cup double in 2011 before eventually moving on to Chelsea.
Now he is the talisman in a Belgium team which has won all five games in Russia so far and is undefeated in 24 matches, although as a boy he idolized Zinedine Zidane.
The French will remember well what happened when the teams last met, with Belgium tearing them apart in a 4-3 friendly win in Paris in June 2015.
And the presence of French World Cup winner Thierry Henry on the Belgian coaching staff as one of Martinez’s assistants adds extra spice to the occasion. “Of course I would prefer it if he were with us and he were giving me his advice, but we mustn’t be jealous,” said Giroud of his fellow striker.
Henry’s old international colleague Didier Deschamps has not won over everybody in his time as France coach, as he continues to favor a cautious approach despite being able to call on some of the finest attacking talents in world football.
Mbappe, still just 19, has already moved clubs for 180 million euros (US$212 million) and the Paris Saint-Germain forward announced himself on the World Cup stage with his brilliant performance in France’s 4-3 win over Argentina in the last 16.
Deschamps’ side was less thrilling, but equally efficient, as it saw off Uruguay in the quarterfinals. It will need to be at its very best defensively against the Belgians, and will look to Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann to get the better of the opposition defense.
“To do what (Mbappe) is doing at his age, I have never seen that, apart from Messi,” said Belgium’s Nacer Chadli, who scored the winner against Japan in the last 16. “We came through the Japan game, then we broke down a barrier by beating Brazil. When you beat Brazil you don’t fear anyone.”