France vs. Belgium
World Cup semifinals, Saint Petersburg Stadium, St. Petersburg
Tuesday’s entrance exam to the championship final features two sides with contrasting World Cup traditions. Belgium enters with its much-lauded “golden generation” but a spotty history of missed tournaments and early exits. The Red Devils have never finished better than fourth place, a result from their first and only trip to the semifinals in 1986. On the other side is France, a world soccer titan vying for its third finals appearance in the last six World Cups.
In the quarterfinals, Belgium stunned Brazil on the back of an attack whose reputation was years in the making.