Courtois: France played 'anti-football' in semi-final

Thibaut Courtois slammed France's style after Belgium's World Cup semi-final defeat.

Thibaut Courtois made many crucial saves for Belgium to keep it in the game but his efforts weren't enough.

Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois accused France of playing "anti-football" during his side's World Cup semi-final loss on Tuesday.

Samuel Umtiti's 51st-minute header saw France win 1-0 in St Petersburg, booking a spot in Sunday's final for Didier Deschamps' men.

Belgium struggled to create many chances after a bright start as it was left frustrated by a compact France outfit.

Courtois blasted Les Bleus – who moved into a third World Cup final – for its tactics.

"It's just an anti-football team," Courtois told Sporza . "Their striker plays 30 metres from his own goal."

 

Belgium booked its spot in the semi-final by upsetting favourites Brazil in the last eight. But Courtois said he would have preferred to lose to Tite's men, praising their approach.

"France heads a corner and does nothing more than defend," he said.

"I would have preferred to have lost in the quarter-finals to Brazil, at least that was a team that wanted to play football."