World Cup 2018: France vs Belgium, Combined XI
We’ve reached the semi-finals of the World Cup, and we’ve got two massive games coming up. The pick of them is the one between France and Belgium, both of whom have produced excellent attacking displays in the tournament so far.
France needed just two games to secure qualification from the group stages, but it wasn’t exactly convincing. They needed the help of VAR to beat Australia, before Kylian Mbappe’s winner gave them a scrappy win over Peru. They topped the group thanks to a dull 0-0 draw with Denmark in their final game.
They impressed much more in their first two knockout matches though. They produced a brilliant display to beat Argentina 4-3 in the round of 16, in a match that proved to be one of the best we have seen in Russia. They then made it through to the semi-finals with a comfortable looking 2-0 win over Uruguay, who had previously been very strong defensively.
Belgium had looked slightly better in the group stage, but there is no doubting that they were in a much weaker group than France. They eased past both Panama and Tunisia, then beat England in a game where both sides rested a number of first choice players.
In the knockout stages, they have been involved in two of the most exciting games that we have seen at this tournament. In the round of 16, they came from two goals down to beat Japan, with Nacer Chadli netting a last-minute winner. In the quarterfinals, they shocked Brazil with a fantastic counter-attacking display that saw them win 2-1.
Both teams have some brilliant individuals in their squad, but these are the 11 players who would make a combined team from the two squads.
Goalkeeper and defenders
Thibaut Courtois (Belgium)
Both teams have excellent goalkeepers, who would get into most international teams in the world. Courtois just edges selection here though after some superb performances at the World Cup. He has always been a consistent performer, but his last-minute fingertip save from Neymar was one of the saves of the tournament so far, and without it, Belgium might not have got this far.
Benjamin Pavard (France)
There were some doubts about Pavard coming into the tournament. He was a lesser known member of the French squad and having spent the last season with Stuttgart playing at centre back, he was a worry for France. He has been superb in Russia though.
Defensively, he has been almost faultless, and although he hasn’t always been perfect on the ball, he hit a quite brilliant volley against Argentina, and suddenly became a hero amongst the French fans.
Toby Alderweireld (Belgium)
There may still be speculation over what Alderweireld’s future holds in terms of at club level, but that hasn’t affected his performances on the international stage. He is Belgium’s best defender and a crucial member of this side.
He and Vincent Kompany formed an excellent partnership in the centre of defence for their game against Brazil, and if the two can stay fit, Belgium has an excellent chance of taking home the trophy on Sunday.
Raphael Varane (France)
It seems like Varane has been around for years, but he’s still only 25. He has established himself well at Real Madrid in the seven years he has been there and has now begun to do the same with France.
He is a classy player, he holds the ball well and is as close as you get to a stylish defender. In the absence of Laurent Koscielny, he has become the leader of this French defence. He has had an excellent tournament and opened the scoring in the game against Uruguay.
Jan Vertonghen (Belgium)
Another Tottenham defender, but Vertonghen plays a different role for Belgium than he does in North London. At Tottenham, he plays at centre-back, forming an excellent partnership with Alderweireld, whereas with Belgium, he has filled in at left-back in the last two games.
He isn’t as natural in that position and probably doesn’t offer as much going forward as many other fullbacks. However, he is a superb one-on-one defender, and there aren’t many better fullbacks who defend as well as him.