The final 4 teams at the 2018 World Cup will go into the high-pressure situation of the semi-final ties this week. Both semi-finals will be all-European affairs and really on the surface of things if you look at the remaining four teams who are France, England, Belgium and Croatia then you get the distinct feeling that anyone can beat anyone else on a given day. There is really not too much to separate the final four at all.
Here we take a look at the World Cup 2018 semi finals along with predictions and betting odds. The only thing we do know is that it will be a European team once again being crowned world champions. As to which of the four that is going to be, that is a pretty tough call to make at the moment.
World Cup 2018 winner odds*
France 2/1
England 11/4
Belgium 11/4
Croatia 4/1
* (betting odds were taken from July 9, 2018, at 6:20 p.m.)
France v Belgium
Tuesday, July 10th – 7 PM kick-off
It is France who have stayed at the front of the pack as the outright favourite to win the 2018 World Cup. But really as we said we don’t see anything much between any of the final four and this is certainly no easy game for the French. France did not one thing impressively during the group stage as they struggled to get results against Australia and Peru before playing out a meaningless draw with Denmark in their final group stage match. There was not much cohesion or conviction from them in the group stage.
But maybe they were saving themselves as they have looked far better in the knockout stages of the tournament. In the round of 16, they had Kylian Mbappe step up to the plate and put on a show to help them beat Argentina 4-3. Then it was more South American opposition for them in the quarter-finals as they face up to the tough defence of Uruguay. France were far more comfortable in that one than they were against Argentina and coasted through with a 2-0 victory.
Belgium are the top scorers at the 2018 World Cup and that should make France pretty nervous. After running up the goals against Panama and Tunisia in their first group stage games they too had a meaningless final match in the first stage as they beat England 1-0. Then strangely Belgium had a massive scare as they found themselves 2-0 down against Japan in the second half of their round of 16 tie. Belgium were quite frankly awful in the game but as soon as they switched to just playing a route-one game they manage to turn it around.
Belgium them produce the performance of the tournament as they beat Brazil 2-1 in the quarter-finals. Belgium boss Roberto Martinez had the nous to change formation and tactics for that one and it paid off as Belgium produced their best game of the tournament. Their front three looked even more dangerous with Eden Hazard finding space, Romelu Lukaku charging at the Brazilian defence and Kevin de Bruyne being pushed further forward.
This is such a tough game to call because you do wonder if Belgium are capable of replicating that same level of performance against Brazil, or did they simply hit their peak and will struggle to get back to that? France meanwhile have a look particularly great throw the tournament but they have shown that they have their big match winners and they do have more strength on the bench that Belgium do if this were to go beyond 90 minutes. Both teams have great individual talent it may just all be about who put it together better as a team on the night.
Head to head
Belgium are 10-9 ahead from previous meetings with France with nine drawn games as well stop the last time they met was in 2015 with Belgium taking a 4-3 win in France. It does mean that France are winless in their last three against the Belgians now (D2 L1) but the last time they did meet competitively was at the 1986 World Cup with France taking a 4-2 victory. Both teams have scored in just two of the last seven meetings between the two sides.
France v Belgium winner odds*
France 31/20
Belgium 21/10
Draw 9/4
* (betting odds were taken from July 9, 2018, at 6:20 p.m.)
Prediction: We are sticking with the strength of France to find a way to win this contest. We see a France to win by a one-goal margin option at 3/1 odds* (betting odds were taken from July 9, 2018, at 6:20 p.m.) as a good betting tip for the France v Belgium game. Take nothing away from Belgium who were magnificent against Brazil, but France just look a bit more rugged and adaptable to the stresses of this semi-final.
Visit Bet365Croatia v England
Wednesday, July 11th – 7 PM kick-off
Croatia went into this tournament as a dark horse and that was because of how strong their midfield area is. They are stacked with talent in there and it really started to shine through in the group stage as they won all three of their matches. One of those matches, of course, was against Argentina with the Europeans running out 3-0 winners over the South Americans. That was a huge statement made by Croatia and with the draw opening up, they looked as if they could just go from strength to strength. However, it didn’t quite pan out that way.
In the round of 16, they had to come from behind to earn a 1-1 draw with Denmark. Croatia saw off their opponents by a penalty shootout. In the quarter-finals they had come from behind against Russia, playing out a 2-2 draw and again having to rely on a penalty shootout to progress. That is a lot of extra work that Croatia have had to do and there have been signs that it has been taking its toll on them. Some of the Croatian players look to be out on their feet in the second period of extra time against Russia. They can’t, of course, afford to go into this semi-final jaded.
Croatia have been less consistent with their starting 11 lineups than England have been at this tournament. They have some great talent though notably in Luka Modric who has been one of the stars of the entire tournament, and they have a threat on the wing in Ivan Perisic. The Croatians have scored at least two goals in five of their last six games played. But what will give England hope is that they have not taken a clean sheet in any of their last three games now. How much will fatigue play in this tie?
The longer this game goes on the more you would probably fancy England will have the edge because of having much younger legs. They got through their quarter-final tie in 90 min against Sweden. England were really comfortable in that game against the Swedes, looking composed and ready to get the job done. It was a stark contrast to the physical an intense battle that they had had against Colombia in the round of 16. But it showed that England can handle and deal with whatever is in front of them which is a huge plus for this young side.
England are just sticking to their simple gameplan and they are not likely to change anything in terms of tactics or personnel for this one. They will perhaps just need to be on their toes a little bit more at the back because Croatia, even though they may be looking a little tired, have plenty of quality still. England clearly have their strengths from set plays but they have been lacking the creativity to create chances from open play. With the way that the draw has opened up for them and with confidence that they are playing with, mostly players whenever likely to have as good of a chance again of reaching the final of the World Cup. The overall quality may not be there from England but their spirit is not in question.
Head-to-head
The last time England and Croatia were against each other was during World Cup 2010 qualification. England produced a 4-1 win and 5-1 win against the Croats. This will only be the eighth meeting between the two nations and England are 4-2 ahead with the one drawn match. Interestingly five of those previous seven meetings have seen at least four goals scored. Both teams have scored in five of the seven previous meetings as well.
Croatia v England winner odds*
England 11/8
Draw 21/10
Croatia 5/2
* (betting odds were taken from July 9, 2018, at 6:20 p.m.)
Prediction: We completely see in this one needing more than regulation time to be settled. Croatia are technically the better of the two sides and will carry a threat, but they know that they will have to be cautious about the attacking pace that England can bring to the table. Another reason we don’t see this being settled straight away is because of the struggles Croatia have had in the knockout phase so we are simply sticking with an England To Qualify betting tip at 8/13 odds* (betting odds were taken from July 9, 2018, at 6:20 p.m.).
