We begin with the World Cup, where the action will resume tomorrow evening, as Belgium battle France in the first semi-final in Saint Petersburg. The two European neighbors came into the tournament listed among the favorites to claim the title, and are now the last obstacle in each other's path to the championship match. Damion Jones has the tale of the tape.

Fresh off eliminating five-time champions Brazil from the 2018 FIFA World Cup by a 2-1 scoreline, coach Roberto Martinez has Belgium going hard in training again, as his men prepare to take on France in the semi-finals. The notable exceptions -- forward Romelu Lukaku and captain Eden Hazard -- with their day devoted to doing physio work on the side. That means the duo should be rested and ready when the Red Devils take to the pitch on Tuesday, looking to extend their run in Russia.

THOMAS VERMAELEN BELGIUM DEFENDER "We can be proud so far of how we performed in this World Cup. Reaching the semi-final is a big achievement, but I think we want to go further now, and don't give up. I think we have to believe in our chances to get into the final and eventually win it."

Eager to bring an end to the Belgians 24-match undefeated streak, consisting of 19 wins and 5 draws, will be a French side written off due to an unimpressive but nonetheless first place performance in the group stage. Coach Didier Deschamps then tweaked his formation when the squad met Argentina in the Round of 16, effectively freeing up Kylian Mbappe to spearhead an explosive display of offense that resulted in a 4-3 victory. Les Bleus continued to roll by dumping Uruguay 2-0 in the last eight, and are now confident about making all the necessary adjustments, to reach their third title match at international football's top tournament.

OLIVIER GIROUD FRANCE FORWARD "We have not had any easy matches so far. We have built ourselves up to be a mental force in these last few games. I have heard that we did not have to react, but we have done it, for example against Argentina. We were very impressive in our control against Uruguay, as we only left them few crumbs, and it is our goal play that way against Belgium."

This duel in St. Petersburg has all the makings of a classic, as fans in the stands and viewers around the planet, expect to be treated to the sight of two very aggressive teams going toe-to-toe, with multiple goals on show. DJ, CGTN.