France played ‘anti-football’ in semi-final, says Courtois

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 they were left frustrated by a compact France outfit.

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

“It’s just an anti-football team,” Courtois told Sporza.

“Their striker plays 30 metres from his own goal.”

Belgium booked their 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.”