"We know them, they know us"

Captain Hugo Lloris is confident that France will be ready to face a Belgian team that "knows how to do everything" in the semi-final of the World Cup on Tuesday (Live on RTÉ2 from 18h). often said to currently have a "golden generation" of players, looked impressive during their tournament run, which included a 2-1 victory over Brazil in the last eight.

They sealed a place in the semi-finals for only The second time, and the first since 1986.

Lloris said: "I think the Belgian team is the most complete in all aspects of the game during this tournament – they are strong everywhere. "It's a fantastic generation and to beat them, we will have to play a great match. We know that there are going to be difficult times and we will have to be ready to suffer.

"But we will be ready because we have a very good state of mind and these are the semifinals of the World Cup.This is an opportunity in our career and we must l & # 39; catch with both hands. "

The 31-year-old goalkeeper has three Tottenham teammates in the Belgium team and there will likely be a number of Premier League cases The boss of France, Didier Deschamps , said: "We know them, they know us, the peculiarity is that there are a lot of players in my team who have their own teammates in front of them.They know each other, it's an advantage on both sides. "

In terms of familiarity, there is also the fact that Thierry Henry works as an badistant coach under Roberto Martinez.

De Schamps, who was Henry's captain in the French team who won the 1998 World Cup, said: "Of course, it's a tough situation, this n & # 39; It's really not easy for him and it happens sometimes.You are part of the enemy team

"He knew that since he'd joined the management team and become Martinez's badistant it could happen, but on a personal level, it is with pleasure that I will see it tomorrow. "

Goaltender Lloris, another former teammate of Henry, said:" It's true that it's a bit weird to see him with the Belgian team but it's not a big deal. is his career and that's how he learns his future career.

"I think his heart will be divided tomorrow because first and foremost he remains French.We know him, he has a lot of pbadion in him for football and he will be with the Belgians and will give everything to help his team. "

Although the team reports that Kylian Mbappe did not attend a training on Monday, Deschamps said he expected to have a full team to choose from.

"Nobody came out even though we rested four of our players today – it was a precautionary measure," he said.

Meanwhile, Belgian boss Martinez urged his players to have a fearless approach.

The Red Devils have entered the last four games for the second time in their history with Friday's win over Brazi, finished fourth at the 1986 World Cup.

Midfielder Nacer Chadli expressed his belief that after making the "big step" to defeat the champions of Brazil, Belgium "n & # 39; "No fear of anyone."

Martinez said in an interview with ESPN: "This The band must play without fear at all.

"If we approach this game with fear in ourselves, we will fall and we will be able to do so much less than we can actually do.

" Playing without fear would probably be the only thing that we would help the most. "

The Spaniard also stressed the need for Belgium to be ready to face the threat of the teenage French star Mbappe.

Martinez n & # There is no doubt that it is "very difficult" to cancel the 19-year-old striker, who scored two goals in the 4-3 win over Argentina. [19659002] When asked about Mbappe's judgment, he stated:

"I do not think there is an easy answer to that because Mbappe is an exceptional player in these circumstances." We will have to Anticipate and be well positioned.We must defend the spaces more than the player himself.But we will not forget them others since France has a very complete attack model. "

Regarding the golden generation of Belgium, Martinez said:" It is important that everyone understands that Belgium has 11 million inhabitants. the current generation of players did not happen by chance. "Belgium is a country that focuses on the development of its young talents, we can only be ourselves and we already have the time to use this World Cup as an advantage for the new generations.

You can follow the FIFA World Cup up to the end with RTÉ.Live blogs of each game on RTÉ.ie and the News Now app, with all the remaining games in live on RTÉ television and RTÉ Player.