World Cup Semi Final #1....the other semi!!
Today, a barnburner of match up between two neighbors and rivals. France and Belgium are two powerhouses of today's football and the winner will be favorites for the Final but neither scare me!!
Many Premier League players will be on show today and will all be familiar.
Let's hope for a great match.... and may the best team win....then lose!!
Join Me
UWS
posted by United We Stand @ 7:30 AM
246 Comments:
Excellent post, mate - I'm on my way home and will join you from there in a few minutes.
Good afternoon, Bob and Dave. A great post, Dave and spot on with everything you stated. Look forward to the match
Hi boys
Just had our three mile walk, a dip and the pool and ready for the OTHER Semi
I was busy today too. Trying to adjust to the humidity. Mowed the lawn, edged, and swept. Now ready for the OTHER semi.
The World Cup Semi Finalist have 39 Premier League players involved!!!
23 for England, 3 for Croatia and...
There are 14 Premier League players (four for France, 10 for Belgium) featured in the starting line-ups of this semi-final. Plus one Championship one!!
The primary comparisons are :
Pogba vs The Chunk
Mbappe vs Hazard
Lloris vs Courtois
Should be quite a contest in this local derby.
The line ups
France XI: Lloris; Pavard, Varane, Umtiti, Hernandez; Pogba, Matuidi, Kante; Griezmann, Giroud, Mbappe.
Belgium XI: Courtois; Alderweireld, Kompany, Vertonghen; Dembele, Fellaini, Witsel, Chadli; De Bruyne, Lukaku, Hazard.
Article Reactions
Te Championship player must be Chadli of the Baggies. That's why the Prem is the best
I used the #39 from a post yesterday I read
Today I read the 14 on the pitch today
England have 23 so it must be 2 for Croatia
Loveren and who? Not a quiz...I want to know
Axel Rose, who plays in Russia, is the only Belgian starter not to play in the Prem. Dembele replaced Meunier , of PSG
Whoda thunk it that Martinez was in the ESPN Studio for the tourney last time out... and got in trouble giving his credentials to someone else to use.... now he could be managing in the FINAL
You are correct about England having 23.Loveren is the only Prem player that I know of representing Croatia unless there's one in the squad who hasn't played during the tournament.
Who would have thought that after being sacked by the Toffees? Football can be a funny old game.
I'm home and looking forward to this one. Hoping it'll be a corker with lots of goals. I'm missing my boys, though. It's not the same watching this stuff without you lot.
Both sides appear to be unchanged from the quarters. I don't really care which side England get in the final. We can beat both of these lots. It's coming home!
FOX says 41 English based players in the semis . France and Spain are the next closest leagues with a dozen players each
Good afternoon, Bob. Agreed. It's just not the same watching without everyone.
I think France is unchanged. Belgium made one, replacing Meunier with Dembele.
Wow - opening narration from Jeremy Irons! And now the teams are coming out. Wahay!
Afternoon, David. We did create a lot of memories last week. But it's nice chatting with you today.
It's a cool , overcast evening St. Pete . Perfect footballing conditions.
Absolutely . It's great chatting with you and Dave,
We are off
They're off from St. Pete
And France get us underway and are immediately on the attack through the youngster Mbappe.
Still jealous about most of last week
Both teams in their first choice kits and France attack from the off down the right with Mbappe.
It's a semifinal local derby
Good cut and thrust to these opening proceedings.
Belgium pushing these now - first corner.
Hazard goes on a run and Umiti clears for a corner.
Rubbish corner from Chadli - back to the Championship with you mate!
Corner from Chadli too high for even the Jolly Green Giant.
Not exactly an England type corner!
LOL, Bob. You must hope he does that at ER.
Lots of Spuds representation in the semis.
I do, yes.
Interesting to see that Belgium are controlling possession while France are trying to hit them on the break.
All Belgium so far; they're midfield is bossing things.
I'm surprised, expecting that it might be the other way around. That verifies what you said about Deschamps being a water carrier.
Nice through ball from Pogba, intended for Mbappe on the break, but Courtois was alert to it.
Belgium offside by a Chunk.
Given this start, I hope that Belgium muller France today. Deschamps is a bore.
Hazard with a shot wide off a pass from KDB after a clearance from Lloris was headed on.
First real chance for Belgium. Lovely flick from Ginger and Hazard hit a diagonal shot across Lloris. Wide.
I'm expecting a really tight contest.
Giroud nicks the ball off Toby and then finds Matuidi, who of course wastes it.
I'm not so sure; the Belgians are having some chances already.
Great tackle by Vertonghen on Mbappe.
Matiudi with a rocket! Saved by Courtois.
Matuidi with a long range effort straight to Courtois
Oh - Hazard with a rifled shot. Deflected out for a corner.
OH!!! Hazard cuts inside Pavard and a shot deflects off of Varane and just over.
Corner from Chadli headed out by the first man, Umtiti.
Oh - Ginger nearly found Hair Bear with that cross. Lloris out to punch. Hair Bear is almost playing a center forward role. Belgium basically playing with four up front!
Varane heads out a cross for another Belgian corner.
Oh - great save Lloris from the shot by Ginger.
GREAT SAVE
OH! Corner headed out and Lloris superbly turns around a shot from Toby, his Spuds teammate.
It was from Alderw....
Long ball just too long for Olly, who couldn't quite connect
Oh - nice long ball to Giroud who just wasn't able to control it. Griezmann hasn't been in this one yet.
Correct . Spuds saved from Spuds.
Toby blocks from Lucas Hernandez for the first French corner. Nice possession.
Corner from Grease Man headed out by Hair Bear.,
Last ditch clearance from Utiti off a cross from KDB
Both teams have created some chances but Belgium on top
Who do we want to win
We need a goal
Vertonghen lectured for an off the ball challenge on Mbappe.
Vertonghen is getting a bollocking now for tripping up Mbappe.
Grease Man takes the free kick short to Pavard and his cross is headed wide by Olly.
I'd take either of these against England in the final. I do think Belgium are more dangerous, though.
Great run by Hazard.... I love that he didn't go down.... Ronaldo's replacement?
Belgium the better team. I don't think it matters who England faces in the final.
He could easily get a move to Real Madrid this summer.
High and wide by Grease Man after Axel Rose blocked a shot from Lucas Hernandez.
ooh, Greaseman to Mbap and then Giroud fluffs line
Oh - great move by France there. Griezmann finds Mbappe with a long ball. The kid volleys toward Giroud who cocks it up.
OH!!! Mbappe gets a long ball and his close is driven wide by Olly.
I think there's a Real good chance that Hazard could move to the Bernabeu
Grease Man fouls Hazard.
Grease Man drags a shot wide off a solo run on the break.
Griezmann pulls his shot wide. And now Olly is down needing treatment. France have come into this one a bit more in the past ten minutes.
Olly down, holding his ankle.Seems to be in quite a deal of pain
OH!!! Great save by Courtois from Pavard off a pass from Mbappe. Out for a corner.
oooh....France almost in... Saved!
Pavard... could he have put in Greaseman
Oh - now Pavard gets behind the defense and only Courtois' foot prevents a goal.
Corner from Mbappe headed out by KDB, the first man.
Matuidi tackles Hair Bear . Now have possession.
France have dominated the last ten minutes.
Dembele hauls down Pogs and sets up a great free kick chance.
Dembele fouls Pogba about 25 yards from goal. Started when Hazard coughed up the ball to his Chelsea teammate, Kante.
Into the wall by Grease Man then his pass intended for Pogba goes out of play.
HT...chances but no goals
They're just dinking it about now. Nearly half time. Not a lot dividing these two sides. Belgium started the stronger but then France got back into it.
0-0 at the interval.
OH ! cross from KDB goes off the Chunk, who didn't know much about it. It's 0-0 at the half.
Rob Stone mentions Ronny's move to Juve three hours after the Nocito Sports Center.
Ready for the second half
We are underway
The second half of the local derby World Cup semi is underway from St. Pete. No changes made.
Hello Fellows,
Was eating dinner during the first half, but I should be able to blog now.
I think England should be hoping for Belgium. Belgium started off brighter (and has still had a few opportunities through Hazard or Umtiti mistakes), but France is starting to play quite well. However, it has not translated into quality chances yet. I wonder at what point you bring in Martial or Lacazette for Giroud, who is a good set-up player, but offers scant threat.
KDB tackles Matuidi and is tackled by Lucas Hernandez.
Why Belgium?
Don't think Martial made the squad RD!
Belgium get us started and are back into the action as they were at the beginning of the first half.
Good evening, RD. Hope you had a great meal.I think England is capable of defeating either of these teams. I don't think Martial and Lacazette were included in the World Cup squads.
Once again, Belgium makes the early running.
The Chunk over with a free header.
Umtiti is sketchy at times
The main adjustment made by Roberto seems to be him having the players pressing the French much more than in the first half.
Hiya, Red Devil - say hi to everyone in Colle.
Olly has a shot blocked by Kompany for a corner.
At other times, he scores.
GOAL! Umtiti nods in the opening goal for France!!!
GOAL
FRANCE HAVE TAKE THE LEAD... Mr Sketchy with the goal
GOAL !!!!UMTITI HEADS IN THE CORNER TO GIVE FRANCE THE LEAD.
That the one in a 100 that works from a near post corner!
The marking by Hair Bear and the coverage on the posts was more than a little sketchy.
England have been criticized for relying too much on set pieces. I'm not sure that we'll hear anything about critical about the French if a header off a corner by their center back gets them into the final.
I seem to remember two headers off corners from Zidane won them their only World Cup title in 98.
Hair Bear fouls Matuidi in midfield.
Dembele fouls Matuidi just outside the box.
Mick Jagger in the posh boxes.
Mick Jagger is in the stands.
Why the hell is Mick Jag being shown...why is he there!
Free kick headed out and Lucas Hernandez fouls Hazard
Belgium will have to push it now.
Can Belgium come from behind as they did against Japan
Mick is a day early isn't he?
Oh - great move there. Giroud should have scored. Courtois saved well at his feet. Lovely stuff from Mbappe.
WHAT A PASS BY MBAPPE
OH!!!! Great One touch passing then a superb close range blocked by Courtopis from Chelsea teammate, Olly
Matt just said
Best pass he's ever seen
Toby has a go from distance. Ambitious, at best.
Agreed about set pieces, Bob. John Strong just mentioned that France defeated Portugal 1-0 in the 2006 semis with a penalty from Zidane. No criticism of that
The Brazil of old used to pass like that
I don't know about that, but it was a decent ball.
Cometh the hour cometh the first substitution. Mertens on for Dembele.
Mertens on for Dembele now; Belgium now have five up front. They are going for it. I wouldn't be surprised if Belgium scored twice. I still think they're the better side.
Drys Mertens needs to be anything but dry Martini if Belgium expects to come back.
KDB pulls out of the shot!!
OH!!! A miss shit volley by KDB off a poor defensive header by Varane.
They came back against the blue team in the round of sixteen. This is far from decided.
Chadli wins a corner off of Lucas Hernandez.
Hazard booked for a foul on Matuidi on the break after Mertens coughed possession after the corner from Chadli was headed out by the first man
Lloris punches out a cross from Mertens.
Belgium has to make this pressure count. They will be opening themselves up to counters.
HB heads just wide!!
OH!!! Header from Hair Bear just wide off a cross from Mertens.
Oh - Hair Bear nearly equalizes with a header. Great cross by Martens who's been eating up Hernandez since coming on.
KDB gifts possession
Agreed, Red Devil - the longer this goes on, the more desperate Belgium will be to push for a leveler, which will open up gaps at the back.
If this score stays the same..the GB would pretty much be assured
A Hat-trick would have to be scored in the Final...we all know that has happened just once
I love seeing them pass the ball around like that on the break....and then comes Giroud.
Olly with a shot in Row H on the break off a pass from Grease Man on the break
Oh - Giroud skies one. He will certainly have to come off soon. He's been pants. If we play France in the Final, I hope they use Giroud up front alone.
That break started with a tackle by Pogba on KDB
In the final , Grease Man would have to be kept in check.
From MIke
Ginger Poirot is having a bit of a stinker.
Toby booked for a foul on Matuidi
Agreed with Mike. Poirot hasn't a clue and won't be able to solve the mystery of how to break down the French
Mike's right. And The Chunk has been quieter than usual.
Umtiti down with a supposed injury. Actually he caught in the face from the ball.
Good point about Pogba starting that break. He is really a very good defender one-on-one.
If France is so good, why is their lone striker a guy who can't get a regular match with his club side? Would that ever be the case for England?
Deschamps seems content to sit on the one goal lead.
Axel Rose called for a foul on Grease Man. Not exactly Rock heavy metal tackling.
Indeed MUR. Griezmann is the central cog in the French work. Mbappe offers moments of individual brilliance, but Griezmann is constantly showing for the ball and then making dangerous passes in the box.
KDB with as shot that went halfway to Moscow.
Will the final be a battle of set pieces.
Martinez about to make another change. Looks to be Carrasco.
Useless cross from Mertens. More like Dean Martin with that cross.
My brotherMike says France can handle a Final better than the Belgians
Roberto should have made more changes by now,.
Hair Bear fouls Mbappe.
I think Mike is correct about France.
Pogba heads high and wide off the free kick from Grease Man
BD. Let's not forget the 1998 squad which had horrible finishing from its forwards (Guivarch, Dugarry), forcing them to rely more on their wingers (Henry and Trez), as well as others for their scoring.
Dembele is on the bench, but he is not your typical scorer either.
Hazard doesn't fall but then does... that was a foul
He hasn't gone down at all today
Hazard goes down under a challenge. The ref is blind and doesn't call anything.
Hair Bear comes off for Carrasco.
Pogba appeared to be fouled by club teammate, Olly. The ref didn't call it. Carrasco on for Hair Bear.
They need to get Giroud out.
Oh - great drive by Witsel but parried away by Lloris!
Superb long save by Lloris from Mertens . Thought that was the equalizer.
Sorry . It was a heavy metal save by Lloris from Axel Rose.
Uruguayan ref letting a lot of things go.
Those guys are so tough.
Matuidi caught a forearm from Hazard. He's being stretchered off.
Hazard is really in the wars now. Down needing treatment after about three late tackles on him. Ironically it's Matuidi, who fouled him last who came off worst.
Stephen Nzonzi to come on for Matuidi.
Looks like former Stoke and Blackburn player, Nozonzi on for Matuidi. Actually not yet
If matuidi can't, it will be Tolisso.
Otherwise, I think Dembele for Giroud?
JPDLC has a fan.... 84th minute!!
Mahrez has joined City
Just as RD called . Olly off. He's replaced by the former Stoke and Blackburn player. He was managed by Pulis and Mark Hughes in his formative days.
Ah, Nozonzi for Giroud.
Quite defensive.
Matuidi looks like he is not in good shape.
Matuidi... is out of it!!
Get him off
Somehow Matuidi is still on the pitch. He must come off before long. Tolisso being readied.
Not sure how Matuidi can continue. He's won't and is replaced by Tolisso.
Under 5 of the 90 to go....surely a lot will be added.....SOMETHING HAS TO BE DONE
Mahres will never get a match for Citeh. Good riddance to him.
Too far for a shot?
Kante booked for a foul on Chelsea teammate, Hazard.
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