They're young, they're brash and they're collectively worth a billion dollars. The one thing missing for France is an international title.

Football stars Kylian Mbappe, Paul Pogba and the rest of the French team are about to get that chance with Les Bleus headed to the Fifa World Cup final after defeating Belgium 1-0 in the semifinals.

France secured the win after defender Samuel Umtiti put them ahead in the 51st minute when he headed home an Antoine Griezmann corner kick delivery in the match played under lights at St Petersburg Stadium on Tuesday (NZT Wednesday).
Umtiti played his part in a strong defensive effort by the French, too, helping to shut out the highest-scoring team at the tournament and leaving Belgium's golden generation of Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku to regret another missed opportunity at a major tournament.

"It's me that scored," Umtiti said, "but we all delivered a big game".

France's players danced on the field after the final whistle and their fans sang in the stands long past the end of the match, surrounded by yellow-clad security.
They certainly hope to keep the party going on Sunday (Monday NZT) in the final in Moscow.

France - with an average age of 26 - have a shot at redemption after losing its last two major finals - at the 2006 World Cup when Zinedine Zidane was sent off for a nasty head-butt, and in the 2016 European Championship on home soil.

"We're immensely privileged to be in the World Cup final," France coach Didier Deschamps said.