France reach the 2018 World Cup Final.

France reach the 2018 World Cup Final.

If this was a French Renaissance then maybe we should welcome it with open arms. The World Cup has now reached boiling point and France have reached their third World Cup Final in recent years with a hard- earned, nerve shredding 1-0 victory over their next door neighbours Belgium. Napoleon Bonaparte may well have described England as a nation of shopkeepers but should England beat Croatia in their World Cup semi final we may have to lock our doors because the stampede for the pizzas and lager will probably exceed all expectations.

Last night there was very little in the way of a French resistance as the current generation of France snuffed out and nullified Belgium in a way that many of us might have suspected they would. This was no ordinary World Cup sem-final. It was much more than that. It was a private grudge match, a historical settling of old scores, fierce rivalry but nothing more than a local skirmish that shouldn't have been allowed to get in the way of a proper football match.

In the end France, now inspired by the sensational Kylian Mbappe and the remarkable skills of Antoine Griezmann, quite literally engaged Belgium in a gripping match of footballing arm wrestling, a contest of passion, furious pace and psychological warfare. Here was a World Cup semi final between two of the most evenly balanced of European teams left in the competition. None dared to catch our breath in case somebody blinked for a moment and you missed something vitally important.

Football need never be the be all and end all of everything and for much of this pulsating contest, it was hard to determine who was the superior and who was the inferior of these two teams. Something had to give and nerves were jangling like keys in your pocket. Would the French crack under the strain of it all or would Belgium give in to the temptation of chocolates and waffles? But this was far more serious than any of such frivolous considerations. There was a World Cup Final at stake and this one mattered enormously.

Belgium, at least for the first half hour or so, took the game right to France with deliciously accomplished football that made the backs at the end of your hair stand up on end. When Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku passed and passed and passed the ball in ever increasing circles, France found themselves chasing red shadows. In and out, round and across, sideways and then gloriously forward Belgium glued together a thousand mosaic tiles of passes that left the French looking at a meek surrender. It was a pleasure to watch but then you began to wonder when the Belgians would find their end product. It was not forthcoming so the French just looked on.

With Jan Vertonghen and Vincent Kompany once again conducting themselves with utter distinction, the fuzzy headed Marouane Fellaini and the tireless Axel Witsel providing streetwise knowledge in good attacking positions, Belgium were looking both suave and sophisticated with a nod to high fashion and cool, avant garde movements on the ball. Belgium looked the better and more technically equipped of the two sides but then they found themselves lost in those complex avenues and alleyways that football can often throw up in front of them.

In the second half the wondrously gifted Kylian Mbappe, Paul Pogba an immovable rock at the back, Benjamin Pavard now developing into one of the most dependable defenders of the World Cup, N'Golo Kante, forever winning tackles, breaking forward with beautifully timed runs into Belgium's half and generally looking the most complete of midfield players in the modern game, France snatched back the initiative and never looked back.

Slowly but surely the French pinched back possession of the ball and while never entirely sure what to do with it, still glided and wafted around Belgium with intricate touches of their own. Once Griezmann found the spaces he seemed to be looking for and Olivier Giroud finally discovered that this could be his night after all, France began to run at Roberto Martinez's side with well organised breakaways that often caught Belgium on the hop and baffled by the dramatic change of tone of the game.

Then just before an hour of the game completed the stale mate was broken. Belgium, who by now must have felt like one of those frustrated shoppers at the winter sales, were suddenly caught by complete surprise. You were reminded of that circus high wire act where the intrepid performer wobbles precariously and knows that things will be right. Belgium must have thought nothing could shake their composure but it did and how shocked they would become.

A routine corner was whipped in with threat and menace. Samuel Umtiti, full of strength and conviction, jumped powerfully and confidently before flicking home his header for France's opening goal. It would be the last time that Belgium would ever leave their hallmark on the game. They strove marvellously and gallantly with every fibre of their being but the French wall would not be blown down and breached damagingly.

And so it is that France return to a World Cup Final exactly 20 years since their first excursion in their homeland when Brazil must have felt they'd been swept away by a rampant French team including the majestic Zinedine Zidane, Laurent Blanc, Emmanuel Petit and Thierry Henry. France are now back in the place they must feel is their rightful place after losing to the Italians in a World Cup Final.

For England of course their night among the stars against Croatia is yet to come. But all the signs are that the next few days for both England and France could become very personal. The prospect of a cross Channel derby gracing a World Cup Final stage still sounds a slightly bizarre prospect given the strained relations between Britain and her closest European acquaintances. Perhaps the French could have never have anticipated this would happen. Time for a re-assuring entente cordiale.