World Cup 2018 Final Predictions After Quarterfinal Results

The 2018 World Cup semifinals are officially set, as France and Belgium will meet on Tuesday, followed by England against Croatia on Wednesday.

France and Belgium beat Uruguay and Brazil, respectively, in the quarterfinals Friday, while England and Croatia both advanced Saturday.

In Saturday's first quarterfinal, England had no trouble eliminating Sweden by a 2-0 score. Croatia needed penalty kicks, however, in order to knock host Russia out of the running.

With only four teams remaining in contention for the World Cup, here is a full rundown of predictions for both semifinal matches, as well as the potential World Cup final.

France vs. Belgium

Neighboring countries will clash in the first of two World Cup semifinal matches Tuesday when France and Belgium battle for a berth in the World Cup final.

France and Belgium appear to be the two best teams remaining in the tournament, and although their meeting would be better suited for the final, one of them will be relegated to the third-place game.

The odds favor the idea that France and Belgium are the teams to beat, as they top both England and Croatia in terms of their chances of winning the World Cup, according to Jeff Sherman of the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook:

With five wins in five matches, Belgium has been perfect at the 2018 World Cup so far.

Its 1-0 win against England to close the group stage meant little, though, and it needed to overcome a 2-0 deficit to beat Japan 3-2 in its first knockout game.

Belgium's 2-1 win against Brazil in the quarters was impressive; however, there were times during the match when it was under siege by Brazil's attack.

France has four victories, as well as a draw against Denmark.

It went blow-for-blow with Argentina in a 4-3 win to kick off the knockout stage before impressively handling red-hot Uruguay 2-0 in the quarterfinals.

Both Belgium and France are stacked with highly talented forwards and midfielders, but the French have been less reliant on one player to do the scoring than Belgium, who has leaned heavily on Romelu Lukaku.

The French have three goals each from Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann, but the likes of Paul Pogba and Olivier Giroud can strike at any time as well.

Due to that depth, along with France's greater experience in matches the caliber of a World Cup semifinal, it will find a way to beat Belgium en route to the World Cup final.

Prediction: France 2, Belgium 1

England vs. Croatia

England and Croatia may not quite live up to the quality of France and Belgium, but the teams are on fairly equal footing, which should make for an entertaining and dramatic semifinal on Wednesday.

It has been 52 years since England last reached a World Cup final, as 1966 marked the first and only time it has won a World Cup title.

Croatia has never gotten that far, but it is back in the semis for the second time, and the first since 1998.

In group play, Croatia were more impressive than England, as it won all three of its matches, including a 3-0 drubbing of Argentina.

By comparison, England won two group matches and then dropped a 1-0 decision to Belgium.

Croatia has needed penalties to win each of its knockout-stage matches, and while England beat Colombia in penalties, its 2-0 win over Sweden in the quarters was convincing.

According to OptaJoe, Croatia is in elite company in terms of teams that have won consecutive penalty shootouts in a single World Cup:

That suggests it has had difficulty putting away its opponents, but it also means it is excelling during the biggest moments.

Specifically, Ivan Rakitic has scored consecutive game-winners in PKs, and goalkeeper Danijel Subasic has been stout.

Another thing Croatia has going for it is the notion that Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric will be the best overall player on the pitch during Wednesday's match.

Modric had several threatening runs against Russia, and he set up the go-ahead goal in extra time with a perfect corner.

A midfield of Modric and Rakitic should allow Croatia to largely control the pace of play, while Mario Mandzukic is a great finisher up top.

Croatia's flair for the dramatic suggests another penalty shootout is in store, and the Croatians will make history by winning a third straight.

Prediction: Croatia 1, England 1 (Croatia wins 4-3 on PKs)

World Cup Final Prediction

Few predicted a World Cup final between France and Croatia entering the tournament, but if that match occurs, it has a chance to be the best game of the entire event.

Both sides are dangerous and clinical on the attack, although France seems to have a bit more depth and quality when it comes to players capable of finishing.

France also boasts a slightly better back line, and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris may be a bit easier to trust in a high-stakes match than Subasic.

In five matches against France, Croatia has never won, being forced to settle for two draws and three losses.

That included a meeting at the 1998 World Cup, which saw France beat Croatia in the semis before going on to defeat Brazil in the final.

If France makes the final, it will have had a much tougher road than Croatia with wins over Argentina, Uruguay and Belgium.

Croatia beat Argentina as well, and a win over England would be quality, but the French have been playing at a World Cup champion level for the past few matches, and that will manifest itself if they meet Croatia in the final.

Prediction: France 3, Croatia 1