France look unstoppable as they head to World Cup final
By Harvey Cruz
France are onto the World Cup final for the first time since 2006 after beating Belgium 1-0. Who can stop them lifting the trophy?
And just like that, France are back in a World Cup final. They edged out Belgium, the highest scorers in the tournament, in a close contest, and now hope to lift this trophy for the first time since 1998, when Zinedine Zidane overwhelmed Brazil on home territory.
Didier Deschamps, despite facing criticism, deserves huge credit for taking this team to a second consecutive major final. They rode a well-drilled defense and brilliant midfield this far despite their attacking talents not shining as one would hope. Hugo Lloris came up huge in this game, making key saves and punches to deny Belgium. He’s been great and is a prime candidate for the Golden Glove.
A closer look at each game on France’s journey to the final will see the different ways they’ve won. Against Argentina, France relied on their attacking players to carry the day. Kylian Mbappe was superb, scoring two goals, and sending out a signal to future opponents. France showed they were capable off out-scoring anyone with their embarrassment of riches up front.
Against both Uruguay and Belgium, they proved they can shut down high-powered offenses. Moreover, defenders stole the headlines with Raphael Varane scoring against the former, Samuel Umtiti versus the latter.
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Deschamps has done things his way with his tactics, and it showed once more with his defensive approach. He elected to have his team sit back and counter as a means of scoring. It hasn’t always produced excitement, or even good performances, but here France are, competing for the biggest trophy in the sport. Deschamps knows how to get the best out of his players without having them do too much; his tactics overmatched that of Roberto Martinez.
France will be favored over either Croatia or England. It doesn’t matter who they play. Deschamps will stick to his guns as he and France are now one win away from their second ever World Cup trophy.