The central defender was France’s matchwinner against Belgium

Corner-kick routine with Antoine Griezmann works to perfection

Les Bleus through to the Final

By Adrien Gingold with France

France have so many potential matchwinners at their disposal that every one of their matches at the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ has ended with a different hero. Taking his turn to step into the limelight against Belgium on Tuesday was Samuel Umtiti, whose flashing header powered Les Bleus into the Final.

The man of the moment was still high on emotion when he stepped off the pitch: “I’m not going to get much sleep tonight,” he said. “It’s going to be hard to nod off. But I don’t need to anyway; I’m not tired. I don’t care.” France’s win recalled their 1998 semi-final triumph against Croatia, when another defender was the hero of the hour: Lilian Thuram. “I hope it’s a sign,” smiled the No5, before adding: “It is different, though. Let’s take one thing at a time. We need to rest up for Sunday now.”

Umtiti’s winner came just minutes after his misguided clearance gave Romelu Lukaku a clear-cut opportunity to give Belgium the lead. Asked if such mistakes can impact on a player’s performance, he said: “No, not in my case anyway. When you’re a footballer, you know that a thousand different things can happen in a match. As soon as one thing’s gone, you have to move on to the next, no matter whether you got it right or made a mistake.”