France close in on cup glory
They’re young, they’re brash and they’re collectively worth a billion dollars. The one thing missing for France is an international title.
Football stars Kylian Mbappe, Paul Pogba and the rest of the French team are about to get that chance with Les Bleus headed to the Fifa World Cup final after beating Belgium 1-0 in the semifinals.
France secured the win after defender Samuel Umtiti put them ahead in the 51st minute when he headed home an Antoine Griezmann corner kick delivery in the match played at St Petersburg Stadium yesterday.
‘‘Vive la France! Vive la Republique!’’ France forward Griezmann shouted during the post-match celebrations.
Umtiti played his part in a strong defensive effort by the French, too, helping to shut out the highest-scoring team at the tournament and leaving Belgium’s golden generation of Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku to regret another missed opportunity at a major tournament.
‘‘It’s me that scored,’’ Umtiti said, ‘‘but we all delivered a big game’’.
France’s players danced on the field after the final whistle and their fans sang in the stands long past the end of the match, surrounded by yellow-clad security.
They hope to keep the party going on Monday in the final, against either England or Croatia, in Moscow.
France – with an average age of 26 – have a shot at redemption after losing its last two major finals – at the 2006 World Cup when Zinedine Zidane was sent off for a nasty head-butt, and in the 2016 European Championship on home soil. France 1 (Samuel Umtiti 51) Belgium 0 HT: 0-0
‘‘We’re immensely privileged to be in the World Cup final,’’ France coach Didier Deschamps said. ‘‘It was so painful two years ago we have to savour it.’’
Deschamps now has the chance to become the third person to win the World Cup as a player and coach, after Germany great Franz Beckenbauer and Brazil’s Mario Zagallo. As France captain, Deschamps raised football’s most-prized trophy in 1998.
Deschamps has faced some criticism for being too pragmatic and functional despite having a squad of superstars, but the organisation of the team was superb against an opponent that was largely restricted to only minor chances and denied on two occasions by France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.
He dived to his right midway through the first half to claw away Toby Alderweireld’s shot, then got in front of Lukaku to punch away one of the many crosses sent in by Belgium in the final stages.
In a tournament dominated by goals from set pieces, France’s goal came off a corner when Griezmann curled in the ball from the right and Umtiti got in front of tall Belgium midfielder Marouane Fellaini to knock in his header at the near post.
‘‘Unfortunately for us, the difference is just a dead-ball situation, a set play,’’ Belgium coach Roberto Martinez said.
‘‘The game was, as you can imagine, very close, very tight, and it was going to be decided [on] maybe the one that it could find that final touch in the box.’’
After reaching the quarterfinals at the 2014 World Cup and the European Championship in 2016, Belgium again missed the chance to get to an international final and has yet to fulfil its lofty expectations.