World Cup preview: France v Belgium

Before football edges a little closer to home when England play Croatia later this week, the first World Cup semi-final gets on Tuesday should see a fierce but technical battle between neighbouring countries.

1900 BST France v Belgium (BBC)

Both sides appear to have gathered strength as the tournament has progressed and are packed to the gills with star quality.

France managed to shut down a once exciting Uruguay team in their quarter-final, in a match that they never looked like losing. After missing that match through suspension, midfield powerhouse Blaise Matuidi is available and is set to return in place of fellow midfielder Corentin Tolisso.

France's front three of Antoine Griezmann, Olivier Giroud and Kylian Mbappe have shown moments of class so far but are yet to produce a unified performance of the sort of convincing attacking brilliance that one might expect from such a trio.

Mbappe was outstanding against Argentina, Griezmann profited from Muslera’s goalkeeping howler in the Uruguay match and Giroud has been diligent but muted in attack for the majority of the competition as the French have struggled to convince under Didier Deschamps’ conservative tactics.

This is not to say that Les Bleus have been poor but merely that they have seemed reluctant to do more than needs to be done in order to win, which is ironically the exact sort of confidence, or arrogance, that teams who go on to win the competition possess.

Although with a less illustrious footballing history than their neighbours, Belgium's victory over pre-tournament favourites Brazil indicates the sort of mettle that makes them a good bet to win their first World Cup.

Their performance against the South Americans was one of counterattacking brilliance, with Kevin de Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Eden Hazard all excelling up front.

The back line and a midfield trio also caught the eye, with Axel Witsel, Marouane Fellaini and Nacer Chadli constantly harrying the Brazilian players while Thibaut Courtios produced several marvelous saves.

Right wing-back Thomas Meunier is suspended after receiving a yellow card against Brazil, so a reshuffle of their dogged defensive will be required.

Belgium have been touted as contenders at the last few major tournaments but only now under former Wigan and Everton manager Roberto Martinez do they seem to be truly playing as a team.

As such, this match presents an exciting prospect which could well feature some of the best attacking football seen so far in the competition and will offer the Belgians the chance to go on to their first ever World Cup final.