A brief look at the football history between France and Belgium.
ADVERTISEMENTFrance and Belgium are already very much intertwined because of geography, history and a similar culture.
These links extend to their respective football teams, who meet on Tuesday evening to contest a place in the World Cup final.
Belgium has the edge as it has won 30 of the 73 matches between the two sides, compared with 24 for France.
Recent history is also on the side of the Red Devils: they triumphed 4-3 in the last meeting between the two teams, which took place on June 7, 2015, at the Stade de France.
Belgium is the team France has met the most over its history and we have to go back to 1904 for the first match.
That saw France travel across the border to Belgium at the invitation of industrialist and Belgian sponsor Evence Coppée, who wanted to celebrate the friendship between the two countries.
The match, which took place in the suburbs of Brussels, saw Belgium, in red, draw with France, in white, three-all.
A year later, again in Brussels, the match wasn’t so close, with the hosts annihilating the French 7-0.
But when France played host to Belgium in Saint Cloud in April 1906, the French secured revenge by winning 5-0.
When it comes to World Cup titles, France has bragging rights — for now.
France won its first and only World Cup in 1998, while Belgium has yet to raise the trophy.