Although England and Croatia are still in it and both of those countries have a World Cup legacy that makes either of them appearing in the final a tantalizing prospect - Croatia even more now thanks to this match - France vs. Belgium in the semifinal in Saint Petersburg felt like the correct, self-contained ending to the 2018 World Cup.

Two teams making the phrase “golden generation” meaningful again have wiped the floor with almost everyone placed in front of them, including the established legends of the field, sending them home with nary a struggle and announcing the dawn of a new footballing era. Gone are Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay; Latin America, so long considered the base of the world’s best and truest football all sent packing by two teams from northwestern Europe.

So it’s apt that, at some point, we got the real European derby. Spain vs. Portugal - still the tournament’s best game - ended up being a false promise of future glory. Several retirements and transfers later, it looks more like the dying embers of the old guard; Spain back to being trophy-less, Portugal back to being nothing without CR7.

And who needs them? Look at who we have now: Paul Pogba, Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann, Benjamin Pavard; Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, Thibaut Courtois, Mousa Dembele. Neighbours and club teammates tonight lined up as enemies and (in the early goings, at least) it didn’t disappoint. Both aware they were finally facing the real deal, the opening portion of play was an evenly matched feeling out process; knowing their danger man Mbappe needs to accelerate, France took a defensive position and waited for the bombardment from De Bruyne and Lukaku.

Maybe 15 minutes in, this falls into place when Pogba, getting proper possession of the ball for the first time, instantly hunts down Mbappe and just about leads him too much, forcing Courtois to get involved. In one move, France revealed they have a dagger ready to strike any gap in Belgium’s armour. The Red Devils, on the other hands, preferred to use archery and peppered the French box with shots any time they had the ball and the space. Hazard and De Bruyne in particular were goal hunting, keeping Lukaku near by to be their bodyguard.

This put the game into the simplistic, turn based rhythm. Thanks to the deft hands of Hugo Lloris and the fleet footing of Raphaël Varane, Belgium’s hit squad never found their kill, meaning the ball repeatedly went out of and back into play in Les Bleus’ territory, letting them start their counterattacking with ease. By half an hour, this had streamlined to the point of looking like two different teams playing two different sports: Belgium’s football was going up against France’s American football. Repeated long balls from the French midfield completely bypassed the Belgians and, were it not for Courtois and Axel Witsel, Giroud and Griezmann would have been banging them in.

At half time, it was all square at 0-0 but felt like it could have gone either way on the slightest detail. Especially after France turned up the tempo in the final ten or so minutes of the half. Back on, nothing had changed in either’s line-up or tactics so it was quite a surprise when France stole the lead with a header from a cross instead of getting it from coming deep. Griezmann swung the bal in and Samuel Umtiti out-jumped the 6’4” defender Marouane Fellaini to send it in (before bizarrely celebrating with what seemed to be a cross between Right Said Fred walking the catwalk and Raheem Sterling’s hips-out, arms-out unflattering run style.)

By the hour mark, France were now in control. Not doing anything particularly wild with it, but they claimed the possession cruelly denied by The Red Devils in the first half and, whenever they felt like it, send Mbappe out to terrorise the defence. Dembele was swapped out for Dries Mertens, who immediately became a threat, sending crosses in and making moves himself. Once again, if not for Varane and Lloris, France would have ended up looking like Neymar’s Brazil.

With ten minutes left, Belgium manager Roberto Martinez took Fellaini off and replaced him with Yannick Carrasco and it was a sign that the man had been outplayed. It’s hard to knock Martinez for reaching the semi-finals of his first World Cup but it’s also hard not to see this campaign as a replay of his stint at Everton being played in super fast forward: Initially the breath of fresh air that The Toffees needed after a decade of David Moyes, Everton looked like a team in the ascendancy and got their first 5th place Premier League finish since time immemorial, and then Martinez quickly ran out of ideas, with his second season ending badly and his third and final in disgrace.

This, of course, is nowhere near severe enough a finish to be considered a disgrace but it’s worth bearing in mind that France’s coach Didier Deschamps is no Sir Alex Ferguson and the French team are far more galvanised by the prospect of winning the World Cup - it’s not a surprise that they’ve incrementally become a better team as they’ve approached the trophy - than they have by their manager. It ended 1-0. So evenly matched and so hungry for a win, if this game proved one thing, it’s that mentality on the sidelines is as important as it is on the pitch. It’s now France’s to lose, and they will if they don’t keep that in mind.