*By Christian Smith*
For soccer fans it feels like the 2018 FIFA World Cup only kicked off but moments ago, yet the tournament is already down to its final four teams: Belgium, Croatia, England, and France.
France and Belgium start off the semifinals Tuesday at 1 pm ET in St. Petersburg. Both teams looked strong in their last matches ー France as it overwhelmed Uruguay 2-0, and Belgium as it upset early tournament favorite Brazil 2-1 in rather convincing fashion.
*Les Bleus* have won the World Cup once before in 1998 and with a stacked squad that includes rising \(arguably risen\) star Kylian Mbappé they could easily do it again.
Belgium, however, has something to prove. The country has never made it to the World Cup finals. *The Red Devils*' best showing was in 1986 when the team lost in the semifinals and the third-place game. The Belgian team has shown that it has what it takes to win big games, but with less consistency, Mike Murphy, deputy editor at Quartz, said on Cheddar Monday.
"I feel like they kind of get unraveled at times," Murphy said. "I think that France is probably the stronger team. I think they really just have shown that they're a little bit more of a team."
Don't count out Croatia and England quite yet. The two teams go head to head Wednesday at 1 pm ET in Moscow.
It would seem that Croatia has an uphill battle, recovering from two long, physical matches that ended in penalty kicks. But team captain Luka Modrić showed that he still has gas in the tank with a few breakaways at the end of extra time against Russia. It's the country's second semifinal appearance, the first being in 1998 - the first year Croatia competed as its own country in the World Cup.
England, which fielded one of the youngest teams in this year's tournament, looked rested and ready to go in the team's 2-0 sweep against Sweden. Forward Harry Kane will be one to watch in the match-up. He's the leading goalscorer in the tournament, although many of those goals came from penalties.
The winners of both matches will face off in the finals Sunday at 11 am ET in Moscow. The losers will have to pick themselves up and head back to the field for the third-place playoff game Saturday at 10 am ET in St. Petersburg.
For the full segment, [click here.](https://cheddar.com/videos/previewing-the-world-cup-semifinals)
Jamil Jaffer, Founder and Executive Director of the National Security Institute, joined Cheddar to discuss the concern surrounding Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai's disappearance following a social media post accusing a former high-ranking Chinese official of sexual assault.
Carlo and Baker cover the latest developments with the Omicron variant, and break down what we know and what we still don't. Plus, a relatively tame Black Friday, and more.
Dan Kilbridge, Bookies.com sports betting expert, and Cam Rogers, Host of 'Lock It In with Cam Rogers' and betting analyst at Bleav, tackle top matchups across the NFL and college football this coming weekend.
Sponsored by BetMGM
BetMGM host Olivia Harlan Dekker joins Cheddar Bets to break down the Thanksgiving Day football games and present her Weekend Portfolio of picks.
Sponsored by BetMGM
Olivia Harlan Dekker gives her top plays for Thursday's Thanksgiving NFL games while Dan Kilbridge and Cam Rogers tackle top matchups across the NFL and college football this coming weekend.
Sponsored by BetMGM
The New Jersey Devils are debuting its newest jersey option, only the third uniform in the NHL team's history. Jillian Frechette, SVP of marketing for the Devils, joined Cheddar to talk about the inspiration behind the new-look hockey sweater, the contributions to the design by Hall of Fame goaltender Martin Brodeur, and what it means for the Garden State, home to the franchise since the team moved from Colorado in 1982. The jersey launched in stores on Tuesday and players will begin wearing them beginning December 8 as the Devils approach the 40th anniversary in New Jersey.
NFL Hall of Famer and "Good Morning America" host Michael Strahan will be able to add space travel to his list of accomplishments as he prepares to launch into orbit with the next Blue Origin mission.
On this episode of Cheddar Bets, BetMGM Host Olivia Harlan Dekker breaks down the biggest NFL action for Week 11; Jared Smith, sports betting analyst from Pickswise, breaks down the biggest games of the college football weekend, including those that put Ohio State and Oregon's Playoff spots on the line; Ben Stinar, NBA reporter for Fastbreak on FanNation, provides one-month-in overreactions and underreactions to some of the NBA betting lines.
Sponsored by BetMGM
