WORLD Cup2018：France reach final after 1-0 win over Belgium
France will face England or Croatia in the World Cup final after edging past European neighbours Belgium in the semi-final in St Petersburg.
Defender Samuel Umtiti scored the winning goal for the 1998 champions in the second half with a towering header from Antoine Griezmann's corner.
Didier Deschamps' side were on the back foot for large periods of the game, but emerged victorious to reach their third final, having been beaten by Italy on penalties in 2006.
Belgium came through the quarter-finals by impressively beating Brazil, but they were unable to find the equaliser, as Axel Witsel's powerful, long-range drive was pushed away by Hugo Lloris, who also brilliantly kept out Toby Alderweireld's turn and shot.
At the final whistle, the France substitutes ran on the pitch to celebrate with the players, while manager Deschamps was mobbed by his staff before dancing around in a circle.
England play Croatia at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow in the second semi-final on Wednesday (kick-off 19:00 BST) and the final takes places at the same venue on Sunday (16:00 BST).
■ Relive France's victory over Belgium
■ Player Rater: France v Belgium
Functional France over flair
Twenty years ago, France won the World Cup for the first and only time in their history at home in Paris with a 3-0 win over Brazil.
That team was captained by Deschamps, who is now aiming to emulate Brazilian Mario Zagallo and Germany's Franz Beckenbauer by winning the competition as both a player and manager.
Deschamps was a holding midfielder in his day and his France side have come to characterise his playing style of functionality over flair by adopting a conservative game.
Belgium had 64% possession in the match but France kept their shape, played on the counter-attack and constantly looked to forward Kylian Mbappe, who was a threat throughout with his darting runs and trickery with the ball.
The teenager, who announced himself on the global stage by scoring twice against Argentina in the last 16, played a sublime flick to put Olivier Giroud in on goal, but the Chelsea man saw his shot blocked from close range.
Although Giroud has now had 13 shots in the tournament without finding the target, he is likely to keep his place in the starting XI for the final.
Deschamps has been questioned for continuing to deploy Giroud up front in his side and has been asked why a place cannot be found for other attacking talents such as Ousmane Dembele or Thomas Lemar.
But he has answered the critics with a run to a second consecutive major tournament final after Euro 2016, when they were beaten in extra-time by Portugal.
Once France went ahead on 50 minutes they rarely looked like conceding and Belgium went out with a bit of a whimper.
參考譯文：
在聖彼得堡的半決賽中，法國隊擊敗了歐洲鄰國比利時，將在世界盃決賽中對陣英格蘭和克羅埃西亞。
後衛塞繆爾·烏姆蒂蒂在下半場憑藉安託萬·格裡茲曼的角球打進了1998年冠軍的制勝一球。
迪迪埃·德尚的球隊在比賽的大部分時間裡都處於後場，但在2006年點球大戰中被義大利擊敗後，他們最終取得了第三個決賽的勝利。
比利時在四分之一決賽中令人印象深刻地擊敗了巴西，但他們沒能找到扳平比分的辦法，因為阿克塞爾·維塞爾(Axel Witsel)強大的遠距離射門被雨果·洛裡斯(Hugo Lloris)推開，後者也出色地擋開了託比·奧德維爾德雷爾德(Toby Alderweireld)的轉身射門。
終場哨聲響起時，法國隊的替補隊員在球場上與球員們一起慶祝，而主教練德尚被他的工作人員團團圍住，然後繞著圈跳舞。
英格蘭隊將於周三(英國夏令時19:00)在莫斯科的盧日尼基體育場與克羅埃西亞進行第二輪半決賽，決賽將於周日(英國夏令時16:00)在同一場地舉行。
■重溫法國戰勝比利時
■球員評定等級:法國v比利時
功能性法國在天賦
20年前，法國在巴黎主場3:0戰勝巴西，贏得了世界盃，這是他們歷史上第一次，也是唯一一次。
這支球隊的隊長是德尚，他現在的目標是通過球員和教練的雙重身份贏得比賽，來效仿巴西人馬裡奧·扎加洛和德國人弗朗茨·貝肯鮑爾。
德尚在他的時代是一名控球中場，他的法國隊已經開始用一場保守的比賽來描述他的功能性而不是天賦。
比利時在比賽中有64%的控球權，但法國保持了他們的狀態，在反攻中發揮作用，並不斷地期待著基利安·Mbappe的出現。
這位在過去16場對陣阿根廷的比賽中打進兩球的年輕球員在國際舞臺上宣告了自己的身份，他的精彩表現讓奧利維爾·格魯德(Olivier Giroud)得以進球，但這位切爾西球員的射門被近距離擋出。
儘管吉魯德現在已經在比賽中有13次射門沒有找到目標，但他很有可能在第11場決賽中保住自己的位置。
德尚被質疑繼續將格魯德安排在他的身邊，並被問及為什麼不能為其他進攻天才找到位置，如杜曼·德貝利或託馬斯·勒馬爾。
但他以連續第二場重大賽事決賽的成績回應了批評人士，這是在2016歐洲杯之後，當時他們在加時賽中被葡萄牙擊敗。
一旦法國在50分鐘的比賽中領先，他們就很少會表現出失球的樣子，而比利時也會發出一陣嗚咽。
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（編輯：HYY）