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The FIFA World Cup has now entered the penultimate stage of the competition and four teams will battle it out for ultimate glory that awaits the winners in the end. All of France, Belgium, England and Croatia have been convincing enough en route to their respective semi-final encounters scheduled to take place in a couple of days.
France will face Belgium in the first semi-final clash at the Saint Petersburg Stadium on Tuesday after the two sides beat the South American contingents from Uruguay and Brazil respectively. England and Croatia will contest the other semi-final at the Luzhniki Stadium after beating the underdog duo of Sweden and Russia to keep their hopes alive.
There have been several star performers for all the teams involved in the mix and some of them have particularly stood out from the rest of the pack owing to a number of memorable performances that helped their teams book their place in the last four of the competition. On that note, let's take a closer at the best-combined XI from the recently concluded quarter-final fixtures:
GK - Thibaut Courtois (Belgium)
Thibaut Courtois raised a strong claim for the golden glove award with his stunning display between the sticks of Belgium against Brazil in the second quarter-final at Kazan. The Chelsea shot-stopper was at the top of his game and never looked like putting a foot wrong for the entirety of the full ninety minutes, that were hotly contested between the two sides ever since the start.
Courtois made 6 saves in total, the highest in a game by any goal-keeper so far in this tournament, and showed excellent prowess in the air while commanding his penalty area with a calm presence of mind. With the scores at 2-1 in favour of Belgium as the game headed to a nervy climax, Courtois pulled off what was probably the save of the tournament after Neymar had conjured a sublime dipping shot on goal to preserve the Red Devils' lead to cap off a stunning display.
RB - Kieran Trippier (England)
The Tottenham Hotspur wing-back has been one of the breakout stars of the tournament so far and continued his consistent run of form against Sweden in the third quarter-final at the Samara Arena. Kieran Trippier was a constant attacking outlet on the right flank for England and pushed forward whenever he sensed an opportunity, occupying deeper positions inside the opponents' half as the Three Lions started exerting control over the Swedes.
He deserves a lot of credit for keeping up with his defensive duties as well after the player unceremoniously took the sting out of Emil Forsberg, who struggled to keep up with Trippier on the night.
CB: Harry Maguire (England)
Harry Maguire was yet another influential figure in England's 2-0 win over Sweden and he marked the occasion by grabbing his first ever goal in national team colours after he opened the scoring for Gareth Southgate's men. The defender was almost unbeatable in the air and never looked like losing an aerial duel on the night.
The 25-year-old's ball-playing abilities from the back are renowned and he did well to keep up with that reputation by showing excellent command with the ball at his feet.
CB: Raphael Varane (France)
Perhaps the best story to have emerged after the quarter-final clash between France and Uruguay was all about one man, a man who redeemed himself with a goal at the same stage in which he cracked four years ago in Brazil against the champions-elect in Germany. Raphael Varane was at fault for Mats Hummels' header that knocked Les Bleus out of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, fast forward to 2018 and the defender emerged as an unlikely hero for his side in their quarter-final win over Uruguay.
Football can be such a leveller sometimes and these are the stories that we live for!
LB: Lucas Hernandez (France)
The Frenchman has been a defining presence at the back for Didier Deschamps' side over the course of this tournament and was yet again consistent in his performance against Uruguay. The full-back was solid at the back and rarely allowed the likes of Nahitan Nandez and Martin Caceres to over-power him on the flanks while also contributing in attack whenever possible.
Nacer Chadli was a close shout for the same spot in this XI but we've decide to go with Hernandez since this is his natural position.
CM: Marouane Fellaini (Belgium)
Roberto Martinez decided to partner Marouane Fellaini alongside Axel Witsel in the middle of the park for Belgium and the gamble paid off handsomely for the Red Devils who swept aside their counterparts on the night, on the back of strong performances from their midfielders. Fellaini was a commanding presence in midfield and bullied the living daylight out of the likes of Fernandinho and Paulinho for the majority of the game.
The midfielder was precise with his breaking up of play and made a number of tackles and interceptions that helped Belgium overcome their biggest challenge yet in convincing fashion.
CM: Jordan Henderson (England)
The midfielder has been a stalwart for England throughout the tournament and with every passing game, he looks more and more flawless down the middle of the park. Against Sweden, Jordan Henderson was at his influential best and covered a lot of ground while perpetually looking up for the killer pass that is well vested in him.
Henderson is yet to taste defeat in the last 30 competitive internationals he has started for the Three Lions and he still has a huge role to play for England in the tournament.
CM: Paul Pogba (France)
Paul Pogba came into his own in the quarter-final tie against Uruguay and is certainly enjoying the freedom that he deservedly gets while playing alongside N'Golo Kante in midfield for Les Bleus.
The midfielder's tenacious nature helped France control proceedings in the middle of the park, to a certain extent, against Uruguay's Lucas Torreira, Rodrigo Bentancur and Matias Vecino who are now renowned for their enthusiasm to fight tooth and nail for the shirt.
RW: Antoine Griezmann (France)
Antoine Griezmann was lucky to get on the score-sheet against Uruguay but that does not negate the fact that he is a world-class forward capable of walking into the starting line-ups of most teams on the planet. The Atletico Madrid winger has been the leading goal-scorer for his country in the tournament alongside Kylian Mbappe and has worked tirelessly with or without the ball at his feet.
That particular reason is exactly why he gets the nod in our all-star XI, he can prove to be an asset even without the ball at his disposal thanks to his immense work rate and never-ending desire to play for the shirt.
False 9 (Second Striker): Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium)
Kevin De Bruyne was deployed in a more liberated role as part of an attacking trio alongside Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku against Brazil and the tactical tweak paid off tremendously in favour of Roberto Martinez and his team. The Belgian was given the freedom to wreck havoc inside the opponent's final third and he took the opportunity with much aplomb and caused all kinds of problems to the five-time world champions.
In this particular system, De Bruyne will operate as a false nine who is capable of dropping down to midfield and combining effectively with his wide forwards who are well and truly capable of cutting inside and finding the back of the net.
LW: Eden Hazard (Belgium)
The Belgium skipper was almost unplayable on the night against Brazil and made Fagner look like a training cone on countless occasions as he unleashed his wrath on Brazil's third-choice right back, who had no answer to Eden Hazard's trademark runs down the flank. Despite not scoring a goal or grabbing an assist, Hazard was still destructive and completed all the 10 take-on's he attempted against the Selecao to cap off a memorable performance for the Red Devils.
Manager: Roberto Martinez (Belgium)
Roberto Martinez had been on the receiving end of a lot of criticism ever since he was appointed at the helm as Belgium head coach. Many people believed that he was not the most proficient candidate to lead a golden generation of players who were bigger stars than he could ever dream of becoming in the first place. However, he produced an absolute tactical master-class against Brazil during Belgium's quarter-final clash by dropping the ineffective Dries Mertens and replacing him with Marouane Fellaini in midfield to help assert dominance in that area of the pitch.
The tactical tweak worked wonders for the Red Devils and Kevin De Bruyne has finally liberated which in turn helped him unleash his true potential that helped the Red Devils reach the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 1986.
Formation: 4-3-3 (False 9)
Honourable mentions: Jordan Pickford (England), N'Golo Kante (France), Nacer Chadli (Belgium), Romelu Lukaku (Belgium)
