Nigeria, Senegal, Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt may have all ended their World Cup campaign after the group stage but with as many players of African descent lining up as France faced Belgium in the semi-finals, there was apparently a lot of interest from the continent.
Ghana, who failed to even qualify for the event, was among the keen observers, although from Paul Pogba to Vincent Kompany, no players holds any links to the land of the Black Stars.
But there was interest all the same. Who needs ancestral relation to be drawn into a World Cup semi-final anyway?
At Krestovsky Stadium in Saint Petersburg, Samuel Umtiti scored the only goal as France registered a 1-0 triumph over Belgium.
The Barcelona defender rose high to head home the match decider in the 51st minute after Antoine Griezmann delivered a corner into the box.
The result sends Les Bleus into the World Cup final for the third time in 20 years after appearances in 1998 (eventual winners) and 2006 (losing finalists).
Didier Deschamps' outfit, thus, await the winner of Wednesday's clash between England and Croatia for a date in Sunday's final.
Culled from social media, below are some reactions from Ghana on the game:
Congratulations to the French team. Now go to the finals and make Africa proud.#JDworldcup #WorldCup
— JOSELYN DUMAS® (@Joselyn_Dumas) July 10, 2018
France but most of the teammates from Africa so we still winning ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
— Queen Wolf (@LOUSIKA) July 10, 2018
Am I th only one enjoying Mbapee’s play?
— Bridge-it O2 (@Bridget_Otoo) July 10, 2018
All over. France into the finals. Umtiti’s goal makes the difference. Who would France meet next? Hard luck to Belgium. They can hold high their heads.
— Veronica Commey (@VeronicaCommey) July 10, 2018
Congrats to France and Deschamps. Captain from 1998 has a chance to win as coach in 2018.
— Godfred Akoto Boafo (@eastsportsman) July 10, 2018
