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Attendance: 64,286
France national football team
World Cup | Semi-Finals
Jul 10, 2018 at 7pm UK
 
Belgium national football team

1-0

Umtiti (51')
FT(HT: 0-0)

Team News: France, Belgium make one change apiece for World Cup semi-final

Team News: France, Belgium make one change apiece
© Reuters
Blaise Matuidi returns to France's starting lineup to face Belgium, while the Red Devils replace the injured Thomas Meunier with Mousa Dembele in their only change.

France and Belgium have made one change apiece for this evening's World Cup semi-final at the Krestovsky Stadium in St Petersburg.

Les Bleus welcome back Juventus midfielder Blaise Matuidi following the one-match ban that ruled him out of the 2-0 win against Uruguay in the last round.

Corentin Tolisso, pushed into an unfamiliar role for that quarter-final triumph four days ago, is the man to make way from the starting lineup.

That means Olivier Giroud retains his place in the forward line, alongside Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Greizmann, despite failing to register a single shot on target this tournament.

Belgium boss Roberto Martinez has kept changes to a minimum, too, with the injured Thomas Meunier the only player to make way from the 2-1 win against Brazil at the weekend.

The introduction of Mousa Dembele will likely mean Nacer Chadli slotting into a right wing-back role and Tottenham Hotspur ace Dembele being used on the opposite flank.

France have beaten the Red Devils in all three previous encounters in major tournaments, including on two occasions at the World Cup.

France: Lloris; Pavard, Varane, Umtiti, L.Hernandez; Pogba, Kante, Matuidi; Mbappe, Giroud, Griezmann
Subs: Kimpembe, Lemar, Dembele, Tolisso, N'zonzi, Mandanda, Rami, Fekir, Sidibe, Thauvin, Mendy, Areola

Belgium: Courtois; Alderweireld, Kompany, Vertonghen; Chadli, Witsel, Fellaini, Dembele; De Bruyne, Lukaku, E.Hazard
Subs: Mignolet, Casteels, Vermaelen, Boyata, Dendoncker, Tielemans, T. Hazard, Carrasco, Mertens, Januzaj, Batshuayi

Follow all of the action as it unfolds with Sports Mole's live text coverage right here.

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Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Germany Germany32107
Q Switzerland Switzerland31205
3 Hungary Hungary31023
4 Scotland flag Scotland30121

Group B

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Q Spain Spain33009
Q Italy Italy31114
3 Croatia Croatia30212
4 Albania national flag Albania30121

Group C

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Q England flag England31205
Q Denmark Denmark30303
Q Slovenia Slovenia30303
4 Serbia Serbia30212

Group D

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Q Austria Austria32016
Q France France31205
Q Netherlands Netherlands31114
4 Poland Poland30121

Group E

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Q Romania Romania31114
Q Belgium Belgium31114
Q Slovakia Slovakia31114
4 Ukraine Ukraine31114

Group F

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Q Portugal Portugal32016
Q Turkey Turkey32016
Q Georgia Georgia31114
4 Czech Republic Czech Republic30121


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