They're young, they're brash and they're collectively worth a billion dollars. The one thing missing for this French squad is an international title.
Kylian Mbappe, Paul Pogba and France are about to get that chance. Les Bleus are headed to the World Cup final.
Samuel Umtiti clinched a 1-0 win over Belgium and earned the approval of watching French President Emmanuel Macron in the VIP seats at St. Petersburg Stadium by scoring on a header off a corner kick in the 51st minute on Tuesday.
"Vive la France! Vive la Republique!" France forward Antoine Griezmann shouted during postgame celebrations.
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."
"It was so painful two years ago we have to savor it."
___
IN THE STANDS