France in the Final, Rick in the Lead

Samuel Umtiti, France's unlikely hero.

France got passed Belgium in the first semifinal with a tense victory in the first semifinal of this year's World Cup.  Samuel Umtiti's beautifully headed goal from a corner kick early in the second half was the only goal.  France had other heros as well.  Hugo Lloris made a huge save early in the game and Kylian Mbappe provided the speedy creative outlet to relieve the Belgian pressure many times throughout the later stages of the game.  When Mbappe got the ball, it seemed like Belgium's only solution was to grab him desperately from behind.  Their entire backline and midfield collected yellow cards as they failed to find other way to slow him down.  In the very late stages, France spurned many chances to put the game away and it looked like they would pay for their wastefulness, but in the end they got the victory and a place in the final.

Those goals that the French threw away didn't come back to haunt Les Bleus, but they may haunt their BISERGS owners who would have loved the extra points goals would have provided.  The victory did give French owners 7 points, lifting Rick from fifth to first and Dawn from eighth to third.  Linday, Krisat and Sharleen also made big moves up the table thanks to the French victory, while Belgium's owners all lost half a point.  Kelley, Gray, Ari, Isaac and Matt S, all slid backwards, but they will have a chance to benefit from the Belgians again in the third place match on Saturday.