World Cup semifinal predictions
Stuff’s football writers try to predict the outcomes of the two semifinal matches at the World Cup.
They nailed the quarterfinal picks, getting all four results correct as Belgium stunned Brazil, France dispatched Uruguay, England were too good for Sweden and Croatia edged Russia.
With the final four set, the ties have got all the more difficult to predict. Andrew Voerman, Ben Strang, Phillip Rollo and Tony Smith will give it their best shot. Which teams will make the World Cup final?
FRANCE v BELGIUM Wednesday,
6am
AV – 3-2 France AET, BS – 3-1 Belgium, PR – 2-1 France, TS – 2-1 Belgium.
FRANCE have looked confident in their abilities since they arrived in Russia, and while they haven’t been as exciting as Belgium, that shouldn’t make you think any less of them.
When they needed to, somehow trailing Argentina early in the second half in the round of 16, they found a higher gear.
Kylian Mbappe and co will fancy having fun with Belgium’s defence. Japan scored two against them in the round of 16 only to concede a third in the last minute; how Brazil didn’t score two – or more – in their quarterfinal, we’ll never know. France should finally make their neighbours pay for their weakest link. -AV
BELGIUM are the most potent attacking force at the World Cup, which should take them a long way towards a very first World Cup final.
With an attacking force featuring Eden Hazard, Kevin de Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Dries Mertens, the Belgians are fearsome in the attacking third.
They have scored 14 goals in five World Cup matches in Russia, while topping a group featuring fellow semifinalists England and knocking favourites Brazil out in the quarterfinals.
At the other end, Belgium certainly could have been tighter defensively, but they’re hardly leaking goals.
They boast one of the tournament’s best goalkeepers, and defenders playing at the world’s top clubs, meaning they’ll be ready to combat the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Greizmann.
It’s their all round quality across the pitch and a tactical edge Roberto Martinez showed against Brazil that can see the Belgians through. -BS
ENGLAND v CROATIA Thursday,
6am
AV – 2-1 Croatia, BS – 1-0 England, PR – 1-0 England, TS – 2-1 Croatia.
Though they too had to rely on a penalty shootout in order to reach the quarterfinal, momentum is now with
ENGLAND after Gareth Southgate’s men backed that up with a much more comprehensive 2-0 win over Sweden.
The same can’t be said for Croatia, who needed spot kicks to beat both Denmark and Russia, two of the less fancied teams in the knockout stages, just to reach the top four.
There are major question marks around the fitness of three of Croatia’s starters, with right-back Sime Vrsaljko limping off with an injury in extra time and the wounded pair of Mario Mandzukic and Danijel Subasic forced to soldier on when they had no substitutions left to make.
Subasic in particular would be a massive blow as Croatia need all hands on deck to shut out Harry Kane, the leading scorer in the tournament. -PR
CROATIA have a creative edge, with England lacking playmakers of Luka