National Teams

Throughout the entirety of the France vs Belgium semifinal, you could do nothing but watch and wonder when Eden Hazard and Kylian Mbappe got on the ball. How is it possible that these two are this good? The pair's simply unplayable when on form, and both have clearly been at their best in Russia.

In the first half, Hazard went off on a terrorizing run after doing in Benjamin Pavard. His flurry of feet to then ruin Pavard again and drift inside Paul Pogba was poetry in motion.

With Mexico failing to advance beyond the Round of 16 for the seventh consecutive World Cup and South America failing to send a representative to the semifinals for the first time since 2006, a myriad of coaching changes are expected in both CONMEBOL and CONCACAF over the coming weeks. Key to all this is Mexico manager Juan Carlos Osorio, who’s expected to step down from his role when his contract expires at the end of the month.

After Croatia’s 4-3 penalty shootout against Russia, Croatia assistant coach Ognjen Vukojevic and defender Domagoj Vida celebrated with a politically charged video tweeted by Vukojevic. Both of their Twitter accounts are currently deactivated. 

Although the video seems like it’s only two guys who forgot the phone was recording while taking a selfie and then tried to play it cool, “Slava Ukrayini” (Glory to Ukraine) wasn’t received that well by Russian fans. Especially since the World Cup is in Russia, if you haven’t noticed, which adds more fuel to the fire. 

As recognized by his 2017 Golden Boy award and current standing as the second most expensive player ever, 19-year-old French phenom Kylian Mbappe is the most exciting talent in world football. He’s the youngest-ever French goalscorer at the World Cup and the second teenager to score two goals in a World Cup match, joining Pele in that regard. 

Sweden was sent packing by England after a 2-0 defeat in the quarterfinals of the World Cup. The Swedes showed the world that they were there to really have a go at the tournament, making it out of a group that barely anyone gave them a chance in. 

However, while Sweden’s players will no doubt be proud of their achievement, there was one little bit of negativity that arose from it — a piece of negativity to the tune of $66,000. More specifically, Andreas Granqvist’s socks are going to cost him $66,000. Clear enough for you? 

This is, without a doubt, the most attention a T3 (third coach) has ever received before a World Cup semifinal, but you can certainly understand why: Thierry Henry, the man who appeared in 123 matches for France while scoring 51 goals, is now tasked with educating the likes of Romelu Lukaku, Eden Hazard and Dries Mertens in the art of deconstructing Les Bleus.

Immigrant players and sons of immigrants largely make up World Cup rosters. Welcoming immigration has proven to be the secret to having success at the World Cup. Out of the four teams still remaining in the tournament, France, Belgium and England feature squads composed of players from very diverse origins.

The 2018 World Cup semifinals begin on Tuesday with France vs Belgium in Saint Petersburg. The final will then be set following the completion of Wednesday's matchup between England and Croatia in Moscow. Here are our World Cup semi finals predictions, including team news, injuries, tactics and previews.

World Cup Semi Finals Predictions, Team News, Tactics And Previews 

France vs Belgium

Tuesday, July 10 | 2:00 p.m. ET | Saint Petersburg Stadium 

FOX and Telemundo

Congratulations to England, but that second game was a stunner, goodness gracious me. As a neutral, it’s difficult to remember anything from the early match after what we’ve just witnessed in Sochi. That was everything: crackling, attacking, heart-palpitating goodness. I can’t even think straight. Russia’s out, but Russia really won me over with that one.  

Russia’s unlikely run is finally over. The worst team in the 2018 World Cup was finally eliminated with a shootout loss for Russia vs Croatia in the quarterfinals on Saturday. After a 2-2 draw, Croatia edged the host country 4-3 in a penalty kick shootout.