latest from the world cup now here's joe absolutely falling yes for just over two hours away from the first let me file of the world cup france play belgium in the last four we have correspondents in both of those countries standing by to talk to us but first let's get to andy richardson in the piece where that game is happening and the belgium a very experience but france had the youth almost side so was more important when it comes to this stage of the world cup. should not see me i'm an englishman we

never normally get this far in a world cup so i've got no idea but i mean if you if you're a member that the early stages of this tournament with this young french team they came in for a lot of criticism stumbled really through the first two games but they pick up a couple of wins and by coach to be a day shops at pains to point out that that's a game against australia he was the youngest french team in a world cup since nineteen thirty eight he was saying that the heart of this squad it is their first world cup really since that group stage they've really burst and so life is up for three win over argentina while we still killing them back pay the nineteen year old price on german striker have such a big impact and there was a calculated composed performance against europe why they want to know so they seem to be growing into the tournament i mean as for belgium they really have played some of the best football we've seen so far this tournament they have won all of their games so far they're the only team in these foreigners to have done that by the top scorers with fourteen goals and they're sharing them around we've had nine

different scores and they now find themselves just one game away from their first ever world cup final and how does that happen because back in two thousand belgium couldn't even get out of the group stages of the euro how have they returned to this level in such a short time. you know they've completely overhauled their academy system if we look at the late seventy's early eighty's belgian suppose very strong . cup seems like a get into the european cup final in one thousand seven hundred and elects were winning the european cup winners' cup around the same time and the national team was doing quite well they were runners up in the euro rising nine hundred eighty goals the semi's of the world cup in one thousand nine hundred six and then there was a dropoff and for belgium for will to survive they had to stop producing their own players romelu lukaku whose father who the cockle be leading the line for belgian today when his son was fifteen was already attracting a lot of attention from french clubs who could offer coaching accommodation education and belgian pubs could not for it made under legs in that case very

quickly over whole the way they looked after their young as they did that they managed to keep. within and the likes of eights of the squad that are at this world cup came through that on the coaching system now some of them they leave quite young but it's a way of belgian football surviving the belgian league doesn't make the sort of money that the spanish league of the english league makes but what it can do is produce young players sell them on to other teams and it's a way of them surviving it and this is the consequence now they're making money for clubs and i've got to say in this competitive on a global stage you are and the symphony is back thank you want to cash a butler is preparing to watch the game in paris natasha how all fans feeling about the team's prospects. well i don't know if you can actually hear the chanting behind me but i'm just step out of the way and you should take a look at the fans that have gathered here in front of the city hall in the center of paris the mayor of paris had said that if roads made it through to the

semifinals she would set up a fan so right here in the heart of the capital that's what she's done and the people have been queuing to get in here for ages the chanting has been quite phenomenal twenty thousand people are going to be packing out this area it is already a sea of red white and blue but it must just last week we went to see the frogs year ago i game and when friends won the crowd went wild and i can only imagine it might be like that if we have a very. similar result people here very excited they feel that france was a bit disappointing at the beginning of this tournament but in these past few games argentina uruguay the french team of really pulled out some great wins and people think that they had seen could really make it through and you know what's been really nice as well is the many fans have told us that is particularly special that france is meeting belgium in this semifinal because the two countries are so close in many ways they are neighbors they share a border some of them share a mind which in fact one found said it's a bit like playing both your enemy and your brother at the same time wanted to show

if fronts make it into the final that have a shot at winning the tournament which i've not done for twenty years and that was such a big deal for the french at the time when it. it was you know back in one nine hundred ninety eight the celebrations really seemed to go on forever isn't it blurs the team a cool tier of finally won the world cup there were really quite amazing scenes and you know that scene back then was seen as the symbol of multiculturalism race in eugene sit down masai did say he knew him too on they were became household names national heroes now look they were seen as a team that might unify france in some way or perhaps people got a bit carried away and people aren't necessarily saying that this time around but it's a young team people are really excited by them and many of the players come from paris and suburbs you know these are places where unemployment is high there aren't necessarily many opportunities young children often say young people often say that you'll to stacked against them but will these players from these areas these neighborhoods have shown is really the you can achieve anything if you want to when

we went to killeen and back at the nineteen year old style strike at the french strike when we went to his the first football club where he came from where he grew up the children they were queuing up to train saying one day we want to be just like him all right natasha butler in paris thank you hope brennan isn't and took to take a look at the belgian build up a pole this is the belgian team that has been touted now as a golden generation how to fans feel about their chances. i'm surprised actually just how lacking in sort of complacency the belgian fans are that we've been speaking to here from here at the fans on the big screen is over my shoulder that just showing the adverts of the man with the natural gates don't open for about another ten minutes but speaking to taxi drivers people out in the streets and also some of the staff who have turned up early here they're actually quite nervous i mean there's a high degree of hope that belgians quality will win the at the end of the day but

they don't take anything for granted here they know that the omens are good i mean let's look at the record the two sides have played each other seventy three times or the two nations have played each other seventy three times belgium has won thirty of those encounters compared to france's twenty four another really powerful moment i think is roberto martinez his record as the manager the coach of belgium he has not been beaten in a competitive match since he took over as the belgian boss nineteen wins and five draws and he will be hoping to continue that that record against france this evening there is a little bit of a blustery weather front coming through here in belgium today the temperatures have dropped significantly from the high twenty's down to sort of the mid teens and there's been a bit of drizzle so we don't know exactly how many fans are going to turn out here at the park to see the big screen and watch that team in action but i don't think the drizzle is going to dump and give the enthusiast some for belgium's progress so far all right paul we can see

a little crowd forming behind you i'm sure it's going to get bigger as the knot progresses thank you. like always sure on the other side the final on wednesday croatia go through that group with three wins from three but then face two penalty shootouts against denmark and russia to get the semifinals meanwhile england finished second in that group and also had the colombia on penalties they want the youngest teams in the competition and say they're hungry for england's first well cup title since one nine hundred sixty six. or behind closed doors football can be anything but the beautiful game for some women in england an organization there has launched a campaign against domestic violence with this shocking image posted to billboards and appearing in newspapers around the country many people have been sharing it on social media the tagline reads if england get beaten so will she the national center for domestic violence highlights that reports of domestic violence increased twenty six percent when england play and thirty eight percent when england lose

after days of seeing in fans celebrate their passage this far in the tournament it's a sobering image accompanied by this ad. was. in order to. hold. on to the. the important the the in. well we're just getting reports that christiane are now days move from real madrid team ventus is being confirmed right now we're bringing more in the sports bulletin eight hundred gnc for now is but only john i thank you so much for that that will do it for today's news great remember to keep in touch with us from social media at all times a.j. he is great from the footy back to don't think this will.

just fold. and the sign is great. this is a story about the small village and the song t. that inhabits it and to of its most important characters the village is

a telephone it's a mix you keep our. discovery in new filmmaking talent from around the globe you find on latin america delves into this cuban my culture it's only long for the song world. on al-jazeera. a new series of rewind i can bring your people back to life i'm sorry and bring you updates on the best of al-jazeera documentaries the struggle continues. to. use distance continues with the silver friends we're going back to a poor south african neighborhood where music and tradition come together in an annual competition for the people who. we want on al-jazeera.

jubilation as rescuer is a celebrate the safe least of all twelve young thai footballers and their coach after being trapped in a flooded cave for seventeen days. this is al jazeera live from london also coming up on the program. america. a life after all you don't have the time.