*By Christian Smith*
In a World Cup filled with exciting comebacks and a record-breaking number of matches decided by penalty kicks, all it took for France to best a high-scoring Belgian team was a single goal.
Center back Samuel Umtiti put France on the board in the 51st minute with a header off of a corner, and the team managed to hold that narrow lead for the last 40 minutes and change.
Statistically speaking, France had Belgium's number when it came to taking shots for most of the game. *Les Bleus* fired off 16 shots to Belgium's 9, which is consistent with the team's shot count throughout the tournament. That evenness is why France is the team to beat in the mind of Jeffrey Marcus, publisher of the World Cup newsletter "The Banter."
"Even when things don't exactly go *Les Bleus*' way, these young hardworking players get impressive results," Marcus said in Tuesday's [edition of "The Banter."](https://mailchi.mp/e3c3e7abc46e/world-cup-banter-dont-believe-everything-you-hear-again)
Belgium was plagued by fouls throughout the match, racking up 16, including three yellow cards. France on the other hand ended the game with just six fouls and two yellow cards.
Croatia takes on England in the tournament's second semifinal match Wednesday at 2 pm ET. The winner will challenge France in Sunday's final.
The loser of that match will battle Belgium for third place in the consolation match Saturday.
For the full segment, [click here.](https://cheddar.com/videos/previewing-the-france-vs-belgium-semifinal-match)
Luis Rubiales, the head of the Spanish soccer federation, announced his resignation in an interview with Piers Morgan after he faced backlash over a kiss he gave to Spanish soccer star Jenni Hermoso following the team's World Cup final win.
Michigan State University suspended football Mel Tucker without pay after reports he allegedly sexually harassed an activist last year.
Novak Djokovic has won the U.S. Open for his 24th Grand Slam title by using every ounce of his energy and some serve-and-volley guile to get past Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3 in the final in New York.
Diede de Groot has won her 12th straight Grand Slam wheelchair singles title. She beat Yui Kamiji on Sunday in the U.S. Open women’s final.
Rubiales kissed Jenni Hermoso during the awards ceremony after Spain beat England to win the title on Aug. 20 in Sydney, Australia. The player said it was without her consent.
Gauff is the first American teenager to win the country’s major tennis tournament since Serena Williams in 1999.
The Lions walked into roaring Arrowhead Stadium on Thursday night, where the Kansas City Chiefs are nearly unbeatable and were trying to open their latest Super Bowl title defense with a win, and proved what Detroit coach Dan Campbell has come to know in turning around the long downtrodden franchise.
Spanish soccer star Jenni Hermoso said a kiss from federation president Luis Rubiales after the team's World Cup win was sexual assault.
Because tennis balls are extremely hard to recycle and the industry has yet to develop a ball to make that easier, nearly all of the 330 million balls made worldwide each year eventually get chucked in the garbage, with most ending up in landfills.
“You cannot imagine," he said. "One player (is) gonna die, and they’re gonna see.”
