With early World Cup exits from Messi, CR7, and Neymar, perhaps the most exciting starlet left in the tournament is 19-year-old French sensation Kylian Mbappé. All eyes were on the wonder kid as the whistle blew to kick off the first semi-final match of the 2018 World Cup. Could he do what neither of the three footballing titans before him failed to do and get his nation to the World Cup Final?
The Early Game
Despite Mbappé starting the match with a lightening run down the wing and a low whipping cross, it wasn’t until the 18’ when we saw the first attempt on goal from either team coming by the way of France’s Blaise Matuidi. The dull opening minutes would set the stage for the entirety of the first half.
The first quarter of the match saw Belgium patiently possess the ball, pinning France back in the early game. Belgium was happy to pass it between center backs (Kompany & Alderweireld), holding onto the ball while they looked for probing runs by Hazard & Mertens. It was all for naught in the first half as Belgium struggled to pose any real threat with their lion’s share of possession.
When Belgium would turn the ball over, France looked to counter immediately. As Belgium tried to break down France’s defense with intricate passing, France turned to route one football in the first half, launching balls over the top to Giroud and Mbappé making runs towards goal. These attempts were a fruitless affair as well, failing to get a single shot on goal after Matuidi’s 18' attempt. As the first-half whistle blew, Giroud walked into the tunnel having played 7 hours of World Cup football without scoring a single goal. It wouldn’t take much of an argument to point to this stat as one main reason France hasn’t looked as dominant as they should.
Second Half Action
As the second half began, we only waited 5 minutes for the opening goal. It was the man who recorded the first shot on target of the match who also got the first and only goal. Antoine Griezmann delivered a beautiful corner that found the head of Matuidi in the 51'. It was a glancing header that put the ball in the back of the net, making it 1-0.
Belgium’s patience turned to panic as they chased after the equalizer. However, being wasteful in front of goal in the first half began to creep up on them. As minutes rolled by, France began to slow down the match. Going to ground every chance they got, running the ball into the corner, and taking their time with every dead ball, France was happy to bring the match to a grinding halt in the last 10 minutes.
Belgium went from patient in the first half, to panic in the second half, and as the last few seconds of stoppage time ticked by, heartbreaking sadness would be the last emotion felt by Belgium, as they failed to find the equalizer.
Takeaways
It wasn’t the thrilling play of Mbappé or the tried-and-true experience of Giroud that got France through to the final. It was France’s ability to be disciplined in defense during the early onslaught of Belgium’s attack, their ability to capitalize on set pieces, and their desire to grind out a result.
What we thought would be a high flying four goal semi-final spectacle ended up being a frenetic match that was won by the team who found a goal where there wasn't one and who was happy to grind out a far from perfect result.
Once again, this World Cup doesn’t fail to surprise.
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