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The Euro 2016 finalists will face Belgium in the semi-finals of the World Cup on Tuesday evening in Russia. Neither side has lost a match in the competition, but Belgium seemed to have taken a slightly easier route along the way as they faced Japan in the Round of 16. In that particular match against the Blue Samurais, it seemed to have exposed the Red Devils' weaknesses and areas of concerns. Fortunately for the Europeans, they managed to find a last-minute winner to advance to the next stage.
As for France, they have come a long way to reach the semi-finals. In a thrilling 4-3 victory over Argentina, it showed the attacking prowess of Didier Deschamps' team. However, Les Bleus struggled badly against Denmark in the group stage, failing to even find the net. After watching that boring draw with the Danes, fans started to wonder how far France would go in the competition. Clearly, Deschamps had asked his team to step up their game and made sure they make use of every attacking opportunity they have.
Players from both sides should be familiar with one another after years of experience in the various European leagues. The two nations had played 73 matches against each other, with Roberto Martinez's side winning 30 of them while France won just 24. History no longer plays a determining factor in the result of the match. In this World Cup, there have been multiple surprises along the way such as Germany heading out in the group stage and Russia beating Spain on penalties.
Here is a look at the five Premier League players to watch out for in the match between the two sides. It remains to be seen which side will have the bragging rights at the end of the match.
#5 N'Golo Kante
The 27-year-old midfielder is playing in his first ever World Cup in his career. Despite being inexperienced in the competition, Didier Deschamps has clearly identified that Kante is one of the most valuable players on his side. Since France kicked off their campaign on the 6th of June, the Chelsea man has played every single minute of all the games.
His eye-catching performances in the competition thus far have captured the attention of Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, who are both eager to sign him from Chelsea. Although his future at Stamford Bridge now seems a little uncertain, all his attention is definitely focused on his nation's upcoming match against hot-favorites, Belgium.
He will be playing against his club's team-mate, Eden Hazard, in the midfield. Whoever wins the midfield battle will place their side at a greater advantage of winning the match and progressing to the finals.
As seen from Kante's matches throughout the campaign, he has much more energy as compared to the rest of his team-mates. Regardless of how tired his legs may be, he seems to run constantly all around the pitch, chasing after his opponents. He even got himself a nickname, Mr. Fix-It, as he recovers the ball with almost every opportunity that he has.
No matter who gives the ball away, the defensive midfielder is sure to chase after it. This gives France a good chance of dominating possession in their upcoming game. Given his experience in the Premier League, where he has faced Hazard and Kevin de Bruyne, it could provide him with the knowledge of how to mark them and where the duo could possibly run to whenever they have the ball.
#4 Kevin De Bruyne
The Belgian almost single-handedly knocked Brazil out of the World Cup. He scored a stunning goal against the South Americans and made everything tick in the midfield. Credit ought to be given to both him and Hazard for helping Belgium become the highest goalscoring nation of the competition thus far.
De Bruyne already has one goal and one assist to his name after four matches. He is surely geared up to face France on Tuesday evening, where he will have to battle Paul Pogba and Kante. As compared to the latter, the Belgian is expected to be more energetic, considering the fact that he was rested for the tough match against England.
The 27-year-old is the player with the greatest number of assists in the Premier League last season. His partnership with Romelu Lukaku is looking good so far and he plays comfortably alongside Hazard in the midfield. He played an extremely crucial role in his side's victory in the quarterfinals and will absolutely hope to repeat that kind of performance against France.
Being particularly proficient with his crossing and passing, he will look to give the French defenders plenty of work throughout the match. Additionally, his ability to score directly from set-pieces and break quickly for a counter-attack will give Deschamps' side plenty to think about in terms of tactics and whom to leave behind when Les Bleus advance in their attack.
#3 Eden Hazard
In the previous edition of the competition where Belgium fell to a defeat at the hands of Argentina in the quarterfinals, Hazard managed only two assists. Now, in this competition, the 27-year-old has remarkably improved his contribution. The Chelsea midfielder has already scored twice and provided two assists after four matches.
The captain has played predominantly as an attacking midfielder but in the most recent match, he took up the role of a left-winger. In that position, he seemed capable of handling the defenders well and managed to create a few chances for his team. He has been the main player in Roberto Martinez's side and is becoming the star of the World Cup.
Hazard will be familiar with his opponents whom he had played against either in the Premier League or Champions League. After accumulating so much experience, he is raring to lead Belgium to a greater level. The player, himself, said that it was the time to shine in the World Cup, now that Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are both out of the competition.
It will not be an easy task to beat France who also has plenty of talent up front. However, Belgium's front three is now looking like the most dangerous partnership in the tournament and it seems almost impossible to stop them.
#2 Olivier Giroud
The 31-year-old forward has yet to score in Russia, but that does not make him a less important player for Deschamps. Giroud failed to start France's opening match against Australia and the national team coach instantly realized his mistake in omitting him. From then on, the Chelsea man has played every minute of the competition.
Although the 1.92m centre-forward does not have the pace to challenge the defenders, he definitely has got the height to head the ball into the net and also bring it down for his team-mates. Every long ball delivered by Hugo Lloris or the rest of the team is targeted towards Giroud. He would then hold the ball for Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann, who would get forward to support him. That is clearly one of Deschamps' tactics when it comes to attacking.
Even though his time at Arsenal was often heavily criticized by fans, one must not forget his ability to offer another method of attack. Besides that, Giroud also provides a huge threat in his opponent's box when it comes to set-pieces. Because of his height, he often gets into an excellent and unmarked position in the box and easily directs his header towards the goal.
#1 Romelu Lukaku
The 25-year-old striker is not far behind Harry Kane in the chase of the Golden Boot award. He already has four goals and is just two goals behind the English man. Lukaku would be extremely familiar playing against Hugo Lloris after years of experience in the English Premier League.
Unlike Giroud, Lukaku has great pace to his game too. He has the physicality to be involved in tough challenges and throw his opponents off the ball. At the same time, he is also capable of charging down the pitch as soon as he receives the ball from his team-mates. His movement in the box has often given defenders lots of problems and they hardly have time to react to his actions.
The former Everton striker has great awareness of where the ball would be coming from and ensures that he has time to get into the right position to score. It is one of the many talents that Lukaku has and there is no doubt that he will lead the line against France. Belgium's hopes of advancing to the finals will lie on his shoulders and he has the responsibility to put his side in front as soon as possible.
