Picture Courtesy : NESN.com
Red Hot Belgium’s great run at the FIFA World Cup in Russia 2018 ended in the semi-finals. The Red devils had played fearless attacking football to reach the last four and when several favoured teams like – Germany, Argentina, Brazil Portugal, Spain, crashed out there was a feeling that the Belgians might go all the way and lift coveted trophy.
But alas! that was not to be as 1998 winners and 2006 runners-up France dashed their World Cup dreams. France beat Belgium in tight semi- final contest 1-0. For the French the hero was Samuel Umtiti, who headed home the winner in the 51st minute of the game. The first half – remained goalless.
The young and well- balanced French team has surprised all with their style of football. The team is keen to put back the narrow 2016 Euro final loss to Portugal as it gets ready to take on either England or Croatia in the final of the football’s most prized trophy.
French coach Didier Deschamps ( Captained France in its victorious 1998 campaign at home ) has chance to take his place in history if France goes on to win the World Cup. He will be come only the third player in history who captained his team to win and later on coach them to win the title .
The first was Brazil’s Mario Zagallo, who won the trophy as a player in 1958 and 1962 and then lifted it as a manager in 1970. Second, was Germany’s legendary Franz Beckenbauer, who captained West Germany to win the trophy in 1974 and then as manager in the year 1990 , when West Germany won captained by mid-field general the great Lothar Matthaus.
