Belgium out of World Cup with 1-0 defeat by France

Belgium's World Cup challenge is over, with the Red Devils losing 1-0 to France in Saint-Petersburg on Tuesday night.

Samuel Umtiti delivered the winner for France in the 51st minute with a header from Antoine Griezmann’s corner. It was only Belgium's second World Cup semi-final in history - the first was in 1986.

The Belgian side will now compete for third place on Saturday afternoon against whoever loses tomorrow's second semi-final in Moscow: England or Croatia.

Prime minister Charles Michel tweeted at the full-time whistle: "Bravo to the Red Devils for their performance and for getting us all the way to the semi-finals."

Belgian coach Roberto Martinez said: "The game was very close, very tight. The effort from the players was magnificent, I couldn’t ask for more. Now we need to get rid of this disappointment and make sure we finish on a high."

Saturday's third place playoff kicks off at 16.00 Brussels time.

Photo: Dirk Waem/Belga