today: france will face england or croatia in the world cup final after defeating belgium. france showed more functionality than flair, but the fans in paris didn't care. and the old lady is calling. ronaldo leaves real madrid forjuventus. many billed it as a classic in the making. a golden generation of belgian players up against the french, who seemed to be getting better and better. it wasn't a classic that many expected. we know it went in france's favour. let's go to moscow. olly foster is there. 20 years after france achieved world cup glory, they were led back to the finalfrom

cup glory, they were led back to the final from the cup glory, they were led back to the finalfrom the dugout. cup glory, they were led back to the final from the dugout. it wasn't the classic we hoped for against belgium. these two sides knocking out belgium against argentina and brazil to make it this far, but it was engrossing. a single goal enough for the french to book their place in the sunday final here that the luzhniki. in russia's cultural capital, a sea of colour. les bleus and the red devils — the st petersburg stadium their canvas for the biggest match of their lives so far. and it was belgium who showed the initial artistry, eden hazard a hair's width away. hugo lloris making every inch matter to keep his side in the contest. courtois was quiet but no less influential, benjamin denied by a toe. france needed a little above, but for this beautiful game, its defining goal had elegance in its simplicity, samuel umtiti's header, france dreaming, and starting to play with a touch of swagger. but, for all the mbappe heels, a second was a struggle.

one last belgian chance brushing the wrong side of destiny. france in the final, and one last chance to finish their masterpiece. let's show you how paris celebrated in saint petersburg. they were runners—up in 2006. the victory against belgium means they reached back—to—back finals at major championships. they lost to portugal at euro 2016 on home soil. that was that the stade de france. focusing on the belgians, they fell short despite that array of talent. they have a squad packed full of world —class have a squad packed full of world—class players. here is our football reporter. it isa it is a huge disappointment for belgium to lose in the semifinals,

but the team, and roberto martinez, the manager, will go home with a lot of credit because of the way they performed in the quarterfinal against brazil. that was a momentous moment for a generation, the team that for so long now has been tipped to do great things, led by kompany, with the flat of de bruyne and the star striker lu ka ku. will they with the flat of de bruyne and the star striker lukaku. will they be able to take this squad into the euro is in 2020. will the international career of kompa ny be over? de bruyne and hazard will have more major tournaments in them. this could be the start of something for belgium. roberto martinez has won the fans around. he was unpopular before this tournament, didn't speak any of the belgian language, only did his press conferences in english and drop their star player. i think that win over brazil has had a big effect, and they will now be a

positive feeling amongst the squad going into the heroes. before that sunday final we have the second semi—final here at the luzhniki stadium. fatigue could be an issue for croatia, and will england's inexperience finally show. they have reached their first final since —— reaching theirfirst final since —— reaching theirfirst final since 1966 would be impressive. they we re since 1966 would be impressive. they werejoined at luzhniki stadium ahead of their game against croatia. gareth southgate said the feeling in the count reminds him of euro 96, a tournament he played in and where england made the last four. the feel of this group of players is very similar to the players we had then. but that team was a lot more experienced, in terms of its age and experience of big matches.

but we approached this tournament in the same way. you know, we were a group of guys having a lot of fun, enjoying our football, learning and improving all the time. and that's what these lads have done, and yeah, we're going into a semifinal, but itjust seems to us like it's the next step on the journey. the big story away from the world cup is cristiano ronaldo. he is on his way tojuventus after the italian champions agreed to pay real madrid a fee in the region of $140 million. ronaldo, who is now 33, won four champions league titles in his nine years at real. he said the time had come to open a new stage in his life. earlier we spoke to spanish football expert eduardo alvarez, in madrid, and asked him how much of a shock it is that ronaldo is leaving the bernabeau. will cristiano ronaldo‘s complaint

at the end of the final season were at the end of the final season were a bit too much for many real madrid fa ns a bit too much for many real madrid fans who just wanted to celebrate, and not listening to the best player of their team complain about his contract and his salary situation. soi contract and his salary situation. so i think he went a step too far, and now people are ready to move on, and now people are ready to move on, and think that this has been a fantastic spell, and a great story for real madrid and ronaldo, but it's time to move on. manchester city have broken their transfer record to sign winger riyad mahrez from leicester for around $80 million. he has signed a five—year deal. he says city's style of play is perfect for him, and he wanted to be part of a club which is redefining the english game. elsewehere, arsenal have agreed a deal to sign uruguay international midfielder lucas torreira from sampdoria for £26 million. the 22—year—old, who played in all five of his country's world cup matches before the quarter—final defeat against france, will join on a five—year deal. lorient midfielder matteo guendouzi is also having a medical with the club.

the way seems to be clearing for serena williams to claim an eighth title at the all england club. on tuesday at wimbledon she made it into the semi—finals, although she didn't have it all her own way. here is austin halewood. another day, another grand slam quarterfinal for serena williams, her 13th at wimbledon, to be exact. it isa her 13th at wimbledon, to be exact. it is a tale we have all seen before, but italy's georgi was determined not to follow the script, hammering home the advantage in taking the first set. but anger serena williams at your own peril. the seven time champion straight back to level at 1—1, and fired up for more. the battle continued into the third, but in a match of fine margins, serena had the edge, just.

this has been my fourth tournament back thomas i don't feel pressure, i don't feel i have to win this, i don't feel i have to win this, i don't feel i have to lose this. i am just here just to be don't feel i have to lose this. i am just herejust to be here, and to prove that i am back. and i feel like i am back, and i still have a long way to go to be where i was. next she will face 13th seed gorges after she beat bertens in three sets. kerber is the highest seed left in london and while her opponent isn't quite a household name as yet, she is predicted to have a big future, with a mixture of trick shots and drop shots, she has w011 trick shots and drop shots, she has won a host of new fans on centre court. but, in a back and forth contest, while kasatkina was a match for almost everything kerber could throw at her, it was the german who sealed it, at seven time of asking. today i was just trying to play point by point, and the end was... yes, a little bit... i think we both

played at a really high level, especially at the end, and i was just trying to stay focused during my serve. and yes, it is great to be in the semis. and next, kerber will face last yea r‘s in the semis. and next, kerber will face last year's champion, ostapenko, after she defeated her opponent 7—5, 6—4. and the latvian is certainly one to watch. colombia's fernando gaviria has won stage four of the tour de france. the quick—step floors rider, who won the tour's first stage, held off peter sagan and andre greipel in a thrilling sprint finish. bmc racing's greg van avermaet retains the leader's yellowjersey. the belgian, who took the overall lead on monday, avoided a crash that split the peloton with 5km to go. four—time winner chris froome finished safely in the bunch to remain 52 seconds further adrift, although he moved up one position to 17th. the golden generation are feeling

blue, but les bleues are feeling golden. hello again. yesterday's fresher weather brought an end to a run of remarkable heat, really. somewhere in the uk over the last six days has seen temperatures into the low 30s, with the exception of yesterday's maximum temperature, which was at chivenor, in devon. we only got up to 26 degrees celsius. so for most of us, yes, there was much less humidity around. it did feel a good deal fresher than recent days. and it was a beautiful end to the day. this was the scene of the setting sun there in lincolnshire. now, looking at the weather picture for the early risers today, we do have a weather front across western scotland that will threaten to bring some rain into northern ireland as well. otherwise, it's a dry start to the day, and a fresher feel to the weather, as well. now, this rain early wednesday morning is actually going to get a little bit heavier,

particularly across south—west scotland. it might well just about scrape into antrim and down in northern ireland as well. but, although it turns heavier for a time during wednesday morning, it will then begin to ease off as the moisture gets spread out along the front, and probably bring in a risk of a few showers across wales and south—west england as we head on into the afternoon. apart from that, really, it's a dry looking day, with the early day cloud tending to break up, with some spells of sunshine. again, it's not going to feel cold in the sunshine but it will continue to feel pleasantly fresh, really. temperatures reaching a high of around 25 degress celsius or so in the warmest spots. but underneath that thicker cloud, in scotland and northern ireland, generally high teens to low 20s here, but it will get warmer over the next few days. now, if you're planning to watch the football later on this evening, should be a fine end to the day if you are at some of these outdoor venues, and temperatures holding up quite reasonably, as well. and actually, should be a comfortable night's sleep ahead as well. now, we'll look at the weather charts on into thursday, and we've still got our wiggling

weather front out to western areas of the uk, but it's a very weak affair. just really a zone of moisture out across the western side of the country. that will provide the focus of a few very isolated showers. the broad picture, though, is a lot of dry weather underneath a ridge of high pressure. so, yeah, quite a bit of cloud around again with spells of sunshine coming through. probably more sunshine generally as we get towards the latter part of the week, and that will help boost the temperatures. so highs on thursday reaching around 27 degrees celsius in london, 25 in cardiff, then a 21 in edinburgh. but again, there will be a few isolated showers across these western areas. that theme continues on into friday. most of us having a dry end to the week, but there will be a few showers knocking around, before it turns warmer and sunnier into the weekend. that's your weather. welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name's ben bland. our top stories: the 12 boys and their

football coach rescued from a cave complex in thailand are now being treated in hospital. officials say they're in good health and high spirits. translation: no one thought we could make it, but we did. it was a first for the world. i'm sophie long live at the hospital in northern thailand, where all 12 boys and their football coach are 110w boys and their football coach are now being treated. also, the head: —— also ahead: president trump arrives in brussels ahead of a key nato summit and bashes europe again on its record of defence spending. and les bleus are through! france make it to the world cup final after beating belgium.