World Cup 2018: 3 reasons why France beat Belgium 1-0 in the semifinals

#1 Hugo Lloris steps up to the occasion

The captain is leading from the front and there is no denying that he has had a tremendous effect on a well-oiled French defence

Belgium looked scarily dominant during the early parts of the game and the French goalkeeper had to deserve every little bit of the Golden Glove he was awarded at the end of 90 minutes.

He denied fellow club team-mate Toby Alderweireld in the 22nd minute with a spectacular dive at full stretch, sending the footballing world into a frenzy.

This kind of confidence resonated with the rest of the squad, who slowly grew into the game. France did have ten more shots on goal than the Belgians, but there is no denying the fact that the French road-block in the final third had a massive impact on the game.

The captain is leading from the front and there is no denying that he has had a tremendous effect on a well-oiled French defence.

The goalkeeper definitely had an impact on how his defenders set themselves up, who held on to a 1-0 lead despite facing the tournament's top goalscorers.

Lloris has been a key figure throughout their World Cup campaign but a near-perfect performance in a World Cup semi-final is what separates him from the rest of the pack.

His opposite number, Thibaut Courtois has also been in splendid form during this tournament. He, however, could do very little to deny Umtiti's ferocious header from going in.

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