World Cup semi-final, France-Belgium: Manchester United's true colors revealed.

France's two most recent victims were both from South America: the powerhouses Argentina and Uruguay, which has boosted the strength and prestige of coach Didier Deschamps' team. Even in their opening match, French football fans had doubts about their team, as they needed a controversial penalty and a late goal to overcome Australia.

Few predicted that Coach Deschamps' team would be able to reach the top four, but they broke the curse by eliminating two strong contenders in the knockout rounds.

Like his teammates, 19-year-old striker Kylian Mbappe has been playing increasingly well, making a strong impression with two goals against Argentina, with the invaluable assistance of his senior teammate Griezmann. However, in their two do-or-die matches, the French team has only faced "one-man teams" like Argentina or Uruguay, who rely heavily on Messi and Suarez, and have yet to confront a strong, well-balanced team like Belgium.

The form of Kante (France) and Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium) will greatly influence the outcome of the first semi-final match at the 2018 World Cup. Photo by: A. BINH

France will need to be very vigilant and confident in the semi-final to expose the true nature of the Belgian "Red Devils." The Belgians have only lost one of their last 17 matches. However, France has more experience and is producing polished performances, and will once again prove themselves in St Petersburg.

Meanwhile, Belgium has become one of the most formidable teams on the international stage in recent years, and with their 2-1 victory over Brazil, they truly drew even more attention. Belgium's performance against the five-time world champions showcased a devastating attacking force that struck fear into Brazil, who had only conceded six goals in 25 matches.

Belgium's trump cards remain Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard, alongside Lukaku, who has shown that he is not only a prolific goalscorer but also knows how to create scoring opportunities for his teammates. Belgium's performance in the knockout rounds also demonstrated a steely spirit and immense belief, as seen in their comeback victory against Japan with a 3-2 scoreline.

Coach Roberto Martinez regretted not having right-back Thomas Meunier available for the match against France due to accumulating two yellow cards, but otherwise, Belgium's squad remained unchanged.

Deschamps, his counterpart, doesn't seem to have made any major changes to the French team with Matuidi's return after a one-match suspension. This leaves him in a slight dilemma as to whether Matuidi will replace Corentin Tolisso on the left wing, given his consistent form.

In the past, the two teams have met 73 times, with Belgium winning 30 matches compared to France's 24. This time, France will win!

Chelsea players from Belgium and France declare war.

Belgium captain Eden Hazard revealed that France's Kante is the best midfielder in the world. Hazard shared that his team would struggle to beat France if his Chelsea teammate Kante played to his full potential. "I've played with Kante all year," Hazard said. "Nobody is better than him in the same position. When he's at his best, you have a 95% chance of winning. But I think Kante will have a bad game in Saint Petersburg against Belgium."

Another French player, striker Olivier Giroud, rated his captain Hugo Lloris as better than his Chelsea teammate Thibaut Courtois: “Thibaut has an impressively long reach. It’s hard to beat him. Thibaut can block the ball in any area. I’ve scored a couple of goals against Courtois in Chelsea’s training matches and I hope to do the same against Belgium. This is a chance for the best goalkeepers in the tournament to showcase themselves. But I think Lloris is the best, sorry Courtois.”

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