Belgium vs France LIVE: World Cup semi-final line-ups; Romelu Lukaku and Paul Pogba start

Belgium face France in the semi-final of the 2018 World Cup with a chance to face England or Croatia in Sunday’s final in Moscow.

Belgium go into tonight’s clash in St Petersburg on a high after a quarter-final win over Brazil.

In contrast, Didier Deschamps’ side sleep-walked through the group stages but exploded into life against Argentina in the last 16 and then produced a professional performance to see off Uruguay in the quarter-finals.

France, world champions in 1998, are slight favourites to go through according to most bookmakers, but Belgium tend to step up their game against these particular European rivals.

BELGIUM vs FRANCE

Belgium XI: Courtois; Alderweireld, Kompany, Vertonghen, Chadli; Fellaini, Dembele, Witsel; De Bruyne, Hazard, Lukaku.

France XI: Lloris; Pavard, Varane, Umtiti, Lucas; Pogba, Kante, Matuidi; Mbappe, Giroud, Griezmann.

SPLIT LOYALTIES…

17:40: “Hey, Thierry. What’s the French trying to help Belgium knock your native France out of the World Cup?”

Henry, a World Cup and European Championship winner with France as well as their record goalscorer, is now in the Belgium camp as assistant manager.

He was a national hero in France but he is now helping plot their downfall. His presence on the touchline will add an interesting extra dimension to proceedings.

Kylian Mbappe, who has been likened to a young Henry, considers him an inspiration but it is the likes of Lukaku who will benefit from his experience.

ROM THE BOMB

17:35: Belgium hitman Romelu Lukaku has fired in four goals so far in Russia, but his unselfish play has been just as vital as his finishing in guiding Martinez’s men to the semi-finals.

Belgium have reached the World Cup’s last four for the first time since 1986, where they wound up facing – and losing to – France in the third-place play-off.

This time though, Manchester United striker Lukaku will be intent on not just advancing Belgium to the final, but also chasing down the tournament’s six-goal leading scorer, England captain Harry Kane.

TWITTER ROUND-UP

Grant: After Real Madrid announced the Lopetegui hire the day before the World Cup and the Ronaldo transfer the night of France vs Belgium, I’m left wondering how Real Madrid will attempt to upstage the World Cup final…

Bawa: Belgium or France? Don’t know who to support today… but whoever wins today wins the World Cup!

Grundy: Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus must mean Jordan Henderson to Real Madrid. They’ll need to replace him with a World Cup winner I reckon…

SENDING ‘EM HOME WITH LES BLEUS?

17:20: France’s teenage striker Mbappe was not born the last time Les Bleus won the World Cup, on home soil in 1998.

But the PSG forward has earned widespread plaudits for his performances in propelling his side into the last four.

Now the 19-year-old will seek to produce another top-drawer showing against Belgium in a bid to seal a spot in Sunday’s final for the French.

P.s. I’m aware the headline doesn’t work. Poor punnage on my behalf…

THREE LIONS

17:15: Poor Gareth. The England boss has admitted he could not listen to “Three Lions” for 20 years after his penalty shoot-out miss in the Euro ’96 semi-final.

The song, recorded by David Baddiel, Frank Skinner and the Lightning Seeds, has been echoing around the nation once again ever since it became apparent that Southgate and his team were going to have an extended stay in Russia.

“Football’s Coming Home is a song I couldn’t even listen to for 20 years, frankly, so for me it has a slightly different feel. It’s nice to hear people enjoying it again, anyway,” Southgate said.

Doesn’t sound like he’s completely over it if you ask me…

RONNIE OFF!

17:10: And here’s me hoping to crack on with our World Cup build-up and then the biggest transfer of the summer happens.

Real Madrid have announced that the transfer of Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus has been agreed.

The Spanish club stated that the move is “in response to the will and request expressed” by Ronaldo, who has spent the past nine years at the Bernabeu.

The fee paid by the Serie A champions is reported to be around £92.7million for the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.

Huge news. D’ya think that’s a good move for Ronaldo, Real Madrid and Juventus? Let me know your thoughts.

HAVE YOUR SAY

17:05: If you want to vent your frustrations, or discuss any issues in the world of football (within reason), then get in touch!

You can either comment at the bottom of the page or contact me via Twitter using the hashtag #ExpressSport.

WELCOME

17:00: And then there were four…

Four sides all vying to be crowned the 2018 World Cup champions and, quite unbelievably, England are still involved!

Gareth Southgate and this young Three Lions side have made everyone proud and have injected some much-needed optimism throughout the nation.

In fact, I’ve already seen a petition with 140k signatures trying to make Monday a Bank Holiday should we actually bring football home.

Might be a little too optimistic on reflection…

But 180 nerve-racking, gut-wrenching, anxiety-filled minutes stand between us and the trophy.

Before all of that, Belgium and France meet in a swashbuckling semi-final in St Petersburg for a place in Sunday’s final. Let’s get going!