France to face Belgium in Nations League semi-final

World Cup holders France will take on Belgium in the semi-finals of the Nations League following Thursday's draw in the Swiss city of Nyon.

The clash is likely to revive memories of their 2018 World Cup semi-final clash which France won 1-0 on their way to the crown.

Following the game in St Petersburg, the Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois accused France of excessive negativity.

“France heads a corner and does nothing more than defend,” Courtois was quoted as saying by Sporza. “I would have preferred to have lost in the quarter-finals to Brazil, at least that was a team that wanted to play football. France are just an anti-football team.”

Belgium skipper Eden Hazard was quoted in the newspaper Het Nieuwsblad: “I prefer to lose with this Belgium than win with this France. But they do defend strongly and are very efficient. We have not found their weak point. That little moment of magic needed to score was not there.”

The latest showdown will be played at the Juventus Stadium in Turin on 7 October. In the other semi-final, Italy will face Spain at the San Siro in Milan on 6 October.

The final and third place play-off will take place on 10 October.

France got past defending champions Portugal, Ukraine and Sweden to reach the last four. Belgium saw off Denmark, England and Iceland.