France v Belgium
Date, time and venue: Wednesday July 11 - Saint Petersburg Stadium - LIVE on SBS from 3am AEST (kick-off at 4am)
France coach Didier Deschamps is confident he has prepared his players for any tactical surprises his opposite number Roberto Martinez might spring when they face Belgium in the World Cup semi-finals in Saint Petersburg on Tuesday.
Belgium are the tournament's top scorers, and Martinez sprang a surprise by changing his system in the quarter-final against Brazil, moving target man Romelu Lukaku out wide so Kevin de Bruyne could operate as a "false nine".
The tweaks worked a treat as Belgium neutralised Brazil's midfield while allowing Lukaku and Eden Hazard to get beyond their full backs.
De Bruyne profited from spaces opening up in the middle as Brazil's centre backs were forced to deal with the threat out wide, and he scored his first goal of the tournament in the 2-1 victory.
With Thomas Meunier suspended for the semi-final, Martinez is sure to make at least one change.
"Belgium didn't arrive here by chance. They played a great game against Brazil with a specific game plan," the 49-year-old Deschamps told a news conference on Monday. "Will they do something similar for us? Probably.
"Their team is geared forward. They keep that particular quality, but against Brazil, Martinez intensified the midfield... and the Brazilians couldn't use those corridors.
Deschamps added that Martinez had benefited from the strong foundation he inherited from Marc Wilmots, who was sacked after Belgium lost to Wales in the Euro 2016 quarter-finals.
Forward Kylian Mbappe, one of France's best players in Russia, was not at the first 15 minutes of training open to the media, but Deschamps said he had a full squad to choose from.
"Nobody is out, even though we rested four players today. That was a precautionary measure," the coach added.
The teams have met 73 times before with Belgium winning on 30 occasions, France 24, and 19 matches drawn.
They last met in a friendly in 2015 and a number of Belgian and French players are team mates at club level.
Hazard and keeper Thibaut Courtois line up opposite Chelsea team mates Ngolo Kante and Olivier Giroud while Paul Pogba faces Manchester United colleagues Marouane Fellaini and Lukaku.
England v Croatia
Date, time and venue: Thursday July 12 - Luzhniki Stadium - LIVE on SBS from 3am AEST (kick-off at 4am)
England manager Gareth Southgate has largely stuck to his guns in terms of England's tactical approach at this tournament but the challenge of a World Cup semi-final against Croatia in Moscow on Wednesday poses him a tricky dilemma.
Croatia have arguably the strongest central midfield pairing of the tournament in Barcelona's Ivan Rakitic and Real Madrid playmaker Luka Modric, while England have been playing with just one orthodox central defensive midfielder, Jordan Henderson.
Southgate's system is built to probe for weaknesses via a trio of attacking players operating behind and around striker Harry Kane, with all three expected to contribute to the defensive work when the team does not have possession.
That means Jesse Lingard, Dele Alli and Raheem Sterling -- none of whom are noted for the defensive side of their game -- must put in the hard graft of closing down space and harrying their opponents.
So far it has worked pretty well. Taking on both massive responsibility and a huge workload, Henderson has been excellent and the attacking trio have helped him enough to ensure he has not been swamped.
But with Rakitic and Modric operating centrally and Andrej Kramaric inclined to drop off behind lone striker Mario Mandzukic, the danger of Croatia dominating the central areas is a very real one for England.
The obvious option for Southgate would be to strengthen that area by bringing in Eric Dier to help Henderson and shore up the middle of the park.
That would mean sacrificing one of the attacking midfield trio, however, which risks upsetting the balance of the formation and reducing England's effectiveness with the ball.
The impression so far is that Southgate trusts his system and his players, and does not want to let the opposition dictate his approach.
But after two knockout games in which they were favourites against Colombia and Sweden, England now face a high-quality, highly tactical opponent and Southgate must decide if his trusted formation is really suited for such a task.
