World Cup: Martinez ‘the proudest man on earth’ after Belgium stun Brazil

Brazil 1 Belgium 2

Belgium have reached the World Cup semi-finals for the first time since 1986 after a magnificent 2-1 victory against Brazil in Kazan.

Roberto Martinez’s men took a two-goal half-time lead through Fernandinho’s own goal and a superb strike from Kevin de Bruyne.

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Brazil had hope of a comeback when Renato Augusto headed in after 76 minutes but it was not enough for the five-time winners.

After the match Martinez told the BBC: “Brazil have so much finesse and you know that they can cut you open. But I didn’t think for one second that the players would give up.

“They’ve done something special and I hope everyone in Belgium is very, very proud. It has created a nice memory and we should treasure it. But now we need more energy for our next game to try to make sure we're just as good in the semi-finals.

“I’m the proudest man on earth because I gave the players a very tough tactical assignment and the way they believed until the last second was incredible.”

Uruguay 0 France 2

France will play Belgium in the World Cup semi-final after their 2-0 victory against Uruguay.

Raphael Varane headed France in front five minutes before half-time and then Antoine Griezmann doubled their lead just after the hour mark.

France coach Didier Deschamps said: “We had done something big against Argentina and today we have again raised our level. I have a good team that still has plenty of room for improvement.

“You can see our lack of experience sometimes, but we have so many qualities too. It definitely won’t be a failed World Cup now.”