France booked their place in the World Cup final courtesy of a tight but deserved 1-0 win over Belgium.
Belgian boss Roberto Martinez once again fiddled with his formation, with Nacer Chadli moved to right-back to replace the suspended Thomas Meunier and Mousa Dembele partnering Marouane Fellaini and Alex Witsel in midfield
However, it was the French who looked the more likely to open the scoring, with Kylian Mbappe superb throughout.
When Belgium did threaten the French goal, they couldn’t beat the superb Hugo Lloris.
The only goal of the game came early in the second-half, with Samuel Umtiti outjumping Fellaini and heading home from an Antoine Griezmann corner.
Olivier Giroud, still without a goal in Russia, saw an effort expertly blocked by Dembele after an exquisite backheel from Mbappe.
Chelsea wingman Eden Hazard was always a threat for the Belgians, although ex-Blue Romelu Lukaku, so impressive throughout the tournament, struggled with a lack of decent chances.
Witsel, Fellaini and Toby Alderweireld all went close as Belgium pushed for the equaliser. However Lloris wasn’t going to let anything get by him.
The game would end 1-1 to Les Bleus, who make their third World Cup final since 1998.
The win also gives coach Didier Deschamps the opportunity to become just the third man to win the World Cup as both a player and manager, after Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer and Brazil’s Mario Zagallo.
The ‘water-carrier’ Deschamps may not be overseeing the most entertaining of French sides, but he may well be leading them to glory on the biggest stage of all on Sunday, where he’ll face either England or Croatia.
As for Belgium, they can look back on a fantastic tournament, with an incredibly tough draw finally getting the better of them. Blame Adnan Januzaj, we say!