World Cup 2018: France vs Belgium, 5 Premier League players to watch out for
The Euro 2016 finalists will face Belgium in the semi-finals of the World Cup on Tuesday evening in Russia. Neither side has lost a match in the competition, but Belgium seemed to have taken a slightly easier route along the way as they faced Japan in the Round of 16. In that particular match against the Blue Samurais, it seemed to have exposed the Red Devils' weaknesses and areas of concerns. Fortunately for the Europeans, they managed to find a last-minute winner to advance to the next stage.
As for France, they have come a long way to reach the semi-finals. In a thrilling 4-3 victory over Argentina, it showed the attacking prowess of Didier Deschamps' team. However, Les Bleus struggled badly against Denmark in the group stage, failing to even find the net. After watching that boring draw with the Danes, fans started to wonder how far France would go in the competition. Clearly, Deschamps had asked his team to step up their game and made sure they make use of every attacking opportunity they have.
Players from both sides should be familiar with one another after years of experience in the various European leagues. The two nations had played 73 matches against each other, with Roberto Martinez's side winning 30 of them while France won just 24. History no longer plays a determining factor in the result of the match. In this World Cup, there have been multiple surprises along the way such as Germany heading out in the group stage and Russia beating Spain on penalties.
Here is a look at the five Premier League players to watch out for in the match between the two sides. It remains to be seen which side will have the bragging rights at the end of the match.
#5 N'Golo Kante
The 27-year-old midfielder is playing in his first ever World Cup in his career. Despite being inexperienced in the competition, Didier Deschamps has clearly identified that Kante is one of the most valuable players on his side. Since France kicked off their campaign on the 6th of June, the Chelsea man has played every single minute of all the games.
His eye-catching performances in the competition thus far have captured the attention of Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, who are both eager to sign him from Chelsea. Although his future at Stamford Bridge now seems a little uncertain, all his attention is definitely focused on his nation's upcoming match against hot-favorites, Belgium.
He will be playing against his club's team-mate, Eden Hazard, in the midfield. Whoever wins the midfield battle will place their side at a greater advantage of winning the match and progressing to the finals.
As seen from Kante's matches throughout the campaign, he has much more energy as compared to the rest of his team-mates. Regardless of how tired his legs may be, he seems to run constantly all around the pitch, chasing after his opponents. He even got himself a nickname, Mr. Fix-It, as he recovers the ball with almost every opportunity that he has.
No matter who gives the ball away, the defensive midfielder is sure to chase after it. This gives France a good chance of dominating possession in their upcoming game. Given his experience in the Premier League, where he has faced Hazard and Kevin de Bruyne, it could provide him with the knowledge of how to mark them and where the duo could possibly run to whenever they have the ball.