France arrived at their hotel in St. Petersburg after beating Belgium 1-0 to reach the World Cup final on Tuesday (10th July).
The team will play the winners of Wednesday's second semi-final between England and Croatia in Sunday's final in Moscow.
Didier Deschamps’ pragmatism prevailed over Roberto Martinez’s adventurous brand of football as France edged Belgium 1-0 courtesy a Samuel Umtiti goal to reach the final of the FIFA World Cup – the third time in their history – at the Krestovsky Stadium here today.
In what turned out to be a game of fine margins, Belgium coach Martinez sprang yet another surprise with his formation, playing three centre backs and without any specialist full-back or wing-back.
It seemed to work through as Belgium gained an upper hand playing a fluid formation, one that varied from 4-2-3-1 to 3-4-3 to 3-5-2, in the opening stages.
