SAEED KHAN/Getty Images The first semi-final of the 2018 FIFA World Cup takes place on Tuesday, with France and Belgium set to clash at the Saint Petersburg Stadium in Russia. The game will feature plenty of talented attackers and has the potential to be one of the most exciting games of the competition. The winners will progress to Sunday's final at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow to face either Croatia or England, while the losers will play in the third-place play-off on Saturday. Date: Tuesday, July 10 Time: 9 p.m. local time/7 p.m. BST/2 p.m. ET TV Info: ITV 1 (UK), Fox (U.S.) Live Stream: ITV Hub (UK), Fox Sports Go (U.S.) Semi-Final Preview Video Play Button Videos you might like France have improved as the tournament has progressed and go into the game as slight favourites. Les Bleus topped Group C without really convincing, but knockout-stage wins over Argentina and Uruguay have enhanced their credentials as serious contenders. Didier Deschamps has one of the strongest squads in the tournament, and it's difficult to find a weakness in his team. Barcelona's Samuel Umtiti and Real Madrid's Raphael Varane have formed a solid partnership in central defence; Paul Pogba and N'Golo Kante have been strong in midfield; and Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe and Olivier Giroud offer a pacy and well-balanced attack. Mbappe has given France a scare ahead of the game, but Deschamps is confident he will be fit, per Goal's Robin Bairner: France also have a good record over Belgium at major tournaments as they have won all three previous meetings. However, they will take on a Red Devils squad that is widely regarded as one of the most talented they have ever possessed. The team has yet to make a mark on a major tournament, but beating Brazil to reach the semi-finals will have instilled belief they can win the biggest prize of all. Belgium managed to deny Neymar last time out, but they must now do the same with Mbappe who dismantled Argentina in the last 16. Roberto Martinez has plenty of attacking options with Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku all expected to start, and they will cause the French defence problems. Bleacher Report's Gianni Verschueren showed what happened the last time the two countries met: France and Belgium are seen as the strongest teams left in the competition, which means the winner of Tuesday's match will head into the final as favourites to be crowned world champions.<doc-sep>Petr David Josek/Associated Press The final four for the 2018 FIFA World Cup quarterfinals wrapped up on Saturday. Croatia pulled out a 2-2 (4-3) shootout victory over Russia in the last game of the round to join France, Belgium and England in the semifinals. England booked its place in the last four with a 2-0 victory over Sweden earlier on Saturday, while Friday saw France eliminate Uruguay by the same score before Belgium advanced with a 2-1 win over Brazil. 2018 FIFA World Cup Schedule Semifinal 1: France vs. Belgium, Tuesday, July 10 at 2 p.m. ET on FOX Semifinal 2: England vs. Croatia, Wednesday, July 11 at 2 p.m. ET on FOX Third-Place Game: Semifinal 1 Loser vs. Semifinal 2 Loser, Saturday, July 14 at 10 a.m. ET on FOX Final: Semifinal 1 Winner vs. Semifinal 2 Winner, Sunday, July 15 at 11 a.m. ET on FOX Video Play Button Videos you might like *All information courtesy of FIFA.com Predictions France vs. Belgium David Vincent/Associated Press Not many fans should be shocked that France and Belgium are among the teams still alive. After all, they come in at Nos. 7 and 3, respectively, in the FIFA World Cup rankings. France have dealt with their fair share of tough tests to this point. They had to go through Australia (No. 36), Peru (No. 11) and Denmark (joint-No. 12) in group play, winning Group C with a 2-1-0 record. Then, they had to go through Lionel Messi and Argentina (No. 5) as the tournament reached the knockout stages before a quarterfinal meeting with Uruguay (No. 14). Belgium, meanwhile, has faced lower-ranked teams, playing both Panama (No. 55) and Japan (No. 61). However, they defeated fellow semifinalists England (joint-No. 12) in their final group stage match to clinch the top spot in Group G. Belgium needed an incredible second-half comeback from 2-0 down in the round of 16 to knock off Japan, and they held on to send Neymar and Brazil home in the quarterfinals. Now, two squads that have yet to lose in Russia are about to go head-to-head for a spot in the championship round. Belgium has proved it has no problem finding the back of the net, averaging 2.8 goals per match thus far. On the other hand, it has surrendered multiple goals to the likes of Tunisia and Japan, and neither of those squads are on France's level. France has had just one match decided by more than one goal through its first five. It is used to playing under pressure and has managed to avoid making crucial mistakes, allowing just one goal outside of the Argentina game. Belgium won't go down easy, but in the end, Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann will help France find a way to get the victory—and more importantly, a spot in the final. Prediction: France England vs. Croatia Alastair Grant/Associated Press Croatia made it through Group D—which included Argentina—with an unblemished 3-0-0 record. In fact, it was the 3-0 victory over Messi and Co. that solidified Croatia's status as legitimate contenders in this tournament. Despite the cruise through the group stage, Croatia has been given all it can handle since reaching the knockout stages. They needed shootouts to get past Denmark and Russia. England is the lone semifinals qualifier with a loss in Russia. Then again, that loss put them in arguably better position. Belgium beat England 1-0 in the Group G finale to take top spot. By doing so, it gave the Three Lions an easier road to the final—their highest-ranked opponent since the group stage was Colombia (No. 16) in the round of 16. Croatia has never finished better than third (1998), while England is looking to capture its second World Cup title after winning the trophy on home soil in 1966. It's been a remarkable run for Croatia, a squad that had failed to advance out of group play in their previous three World Cup appearances. But unfortunately for them, talent will win out at this stage. Prediction: England<doc-sep>FIFA World Cup 2018: The semi-finals will be played on July 10 and July 11. (Reuters Photo) The 2018 FIFA World Cup is nearing it business end and with the quarter-finals done and dusted, semi-finals and final awaits. The penultimate round of the World Cup will see France, Belgium, England and Croatia in action, making it an all-European cast for the semi-finals. Such an occurrence has happened for only the fifth time in the history of the tournament, with the latest being 2006, which in fact was hosted by Germany - an European team. The other three times were 1934 in Italy, 1966 in England and 1982 in Spain -- all incidentally being European nations. France will face Belgium in the first semi-final next Tuesday on July 10 at the Saint Petersburg Stadium, whereas England will take on Croatia in the second semi-final on Wednesday, July 11 at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. 2018 FIFA WORLD CUP: FULL COVERAGE FRANCE VS BELGIUM France defeated Uruguay 2-0 in the first quarter-final of FIFA World Cup 2018 at Nizhny Novgorod to book a last four berth after eight years on Friday. France were world champions in 2002 and reached the final in 2006 which they lost to Italy. On paper, France were the most balanced team before the start of the 2018 World Cup and they came to their elements during a 4-2 annihilation of Argentina in the round of 16. In the second match, Belgium defeated five-time champions Brazil 2-1 in the FIFA World Cup quarter-final in Kazan to reach the last-four stage for the first time since 1986. A Fernandinho own goal and a brilliant Kevin De Bruyne strike gave Belgium a spot in the last four for the second time after 1986 and sent Brazil home at the quarter-final stage for the third time in the last four World Cups. Brazil dominated possession and carved out chance after chance but could not score until substitute Renato Augusto headed home Philippe Coutinho's cross 14 minutes from time. CROATIA vs ENGLAND Harry Maguire and Dele Alli scored as England defeated Sweden 2-0 to reach their first World Cup semi-final since 1990. The Swedes were no match for the fluent English in their FIFA World Cup 2018 quarter-final at the Samara Arena on Saturday. England had won the World Cup in 1966 and thereafter, reached the quarter-finals in 1970. They did not qualify for the World Cup in 1974 and 1978. In the second match, Croatia beat hosts Russia 4-3 on penalties after the teams were level at 2-2 following extra time in their World Cup quarter-final on Saturday and will meet now England in the semi-finals. Croatia defender Domagoj Vida put them 2-1 ahead from a Luka Modric corner in the first period of extra time but Russia's Mario Fernandes headed an equaliser with five minutes remaining, much to the delight of the partisan crowd at the Fisht Stadium. Denis Cheryshev's swerving left-footer from the edge of the box had opened the scoring for Russia in the 31st minute of normal time but an unmarked Andrej Kramaric headed in a cross from Mario Mandzukic eight minutes later to restore parity. (With inputs from Reuters)<doc-sep>World Cup 2018 on the BBC Host: Russia Dates: 14 June - 15 July Live: Coverage across BBC TV, BBC Radio and BBC Sport website with further coverage on Red Button, Connected TVs and mobile app. BBC Sport football expert Mark Lawrenson is making a prediction for every match in Russia. Lawro picked the winner in three of the four quarter-finals and six of the eight last-16 ties. He enjoyed a 46% success rate in the group stage, correctly guessing the outcome of 22 of the 48 games. Before the tournament, Lawro correctly chose 14 of the 16 teams that reached the first knockout stage, including Brazil - his pick to win the tournament - and England, who he thought would go out in the quarter-finals. Lawro was speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan in Moscow. Games Score Lawro's prediction Tuesday, 10 July France v Belgium 1-0 2-0 Wednesday, 11 July Croatia v England x-x 1-2 (aet) Tuesday, 10 July France 1-0 Belgium Lawro's prediction: 2-0 Match report Wednesday, 11 July Croatia v England (Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow. 19:00 BST KO) I was at both of Croatia's matches in the knockout stages - their penalty shootout wins over Denmark and Russia. They have got good players right through their team and, without a doubt, they will be the best team that England have played at this World Cup - I am ignoring the meaningless match against Belgium. So I think Gareth Southgate's side will have to raise their level from what we have seen so far. But this just strikes me as one of those games that I really do think England will win by hook or by crook. Croatia have had extra time in their past two matches, and some of their players looked out on their feet near the end against Russia. I just have a feeling that England will find a way to win. Sometimes I think these things are written - and the way this tournament has opened up for England is one of the reasons it feels like this is their time. I think their players will realise they will never ever have a better chance of getting into a World Cup final, and also of winning the thing. While England's results have been a lot better than their performances, that is not a bad thing in a tournament like this. Plus I think they have got a lot left in the tank. One of the areas where they can improve is by creating more chances in open play. We know they are capable of doing it - it just has not happened yet. So I do think they will find a way to the final - and if they make it back to Moscow four days later, I think they will win it. Lawro's prediction: 1-2 (aet)<doc-sep>
Croatia qualified for the semi-finals for just the second time in World Cup history and will face England. (Source: Reuters) Croatia qualified for the semi-finals for just the second time in World Cup history and will face England. (Source: Reuters) Unlike the Round of 16, the quarter-finals did not provide matches that could be termed as ‘World Cup Classics,’ with the exception of Croatia’s win on penalties against the astonishingly resilient Russia. But, the highlight remained the exit of Brazil to a sensational display of all-round brilliance from Belgium. England reached their first World Cup semi-final since 1990 while France put in the kind of performance that one would expect from a team as star-studded the one they have to beat Uruguay 2-0. This is just the second time in the tournament’s history that Croatia have reached the semi-final stage of the World Cup. July 10, 11.30 PM: France vs Belgium Among the four teams, only France have qualified for the semi-finals in any of the previous four editions of the World Cup. They will be playing Belgium in what promises to be a humdinger of a match. Both sides possess some of the most recognisable names in the sport. France disappointed somewhat in the group stage considering what was expected off their talented set of players but their display in the against Argentina and Uruguay indicated that they are finally getting into their rhythm. Kylian Mbappe has exploded into international reckoning with his performances in the knockouts. Belgium, on the other hand, have been pretty much the only team in the top five rankings who have justified their position. Their dramatic 3-2 win over Japan and the subsequent 2-1 win over Brazil showed two different facets of their ability. Against Japan, they had to respond to going 2-0 down in the second half while they smothered Brazil after forcing an own goal against the run of play. The likes of Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne have ravaged defences and Thibaut Courtois, Jan Vertonghen and the rest of their own backline have shut down opposition attacks. July 11, 11.30 PM: Croatia vs England Croatia had to survive two penalty shootouts to get to the semi-finals and that highlights the importance of their goalkeeper Danijel Subasic. He was limping towards the end of their epic quarter-final match against Russia they will be hoping that it was only fatigue and nothing serious. Luka Modric has undoubtedly been their standout outfield player but they would want the likes of Mario Mandzukic and Ivan Rakitic to step up. Both are influential players for their respective clubs but their contributions have been few and far in between in Russia. England’s fans may already be in party-mode but their players have remained focused on the task at hand, as was evident from the efficiency they displayed in their 2-0 win over Sweden. It was the second match of this tournament in which their talismanic striker Harry Kane did not score, with the first being their final group game against Belgium in which he did not play at all. They thus showed that while they may need him for spot-kicks, England have many players who are capable of scoring from regular play or set-pieces. Jordan Pickford has been a revelation between the sticks while centre-half Harry Maguire has justified the trust that he has received from manager Gareth Southgate.