Meunier, who missed the semi-final loss to France due to suspension, scored after just four minutes before Hazard grabbed a late second as Belgium eclipsed the side that came fourth at the 1986 edition.

Belgium have now defeated England twice in a fortnight, having waited 82 years to beat them before winning 1-0 in their group stage encounter.

Gareth Southgate’s men were forced to settle for England’s joint best performance at a World Cup abroad, matching that of the 1990 generation.

He made five changes to the team beaten 2-1 by Croatia in the last four, as England fielded their youngest World Cup line-up in history — with an average age of 25 years and 174 days.

Phil Jones, Danny Rose, Eric Dier, Fabian Delph and Ruben Loftus-Cheek all came into the side, while Belgium boss Roberto Martinez recalled Meunier and handed a start to Youri Tielemans.

Paris Saint-Germain defender Meunier made a quick impression by firing Belgium in front following an attack started by Romelu Lukaku.

The Manchester United forward released Nacer Chadli down the right into space behind the England defence, and his cross was turned home by Meunier who stepped in front of a static Rose.

Jordan Pickford readjusted his body superbly to deny Kevin De Bruyne a second time, the Everton goalkeeper clawing away the ball after a sizeable deflection off Kieran Trippier.

– Alderweireld’s goal-saving clearance –

Eden Hazard sought to exploit the spaces at every opportunity, the Belgium captain linked up intelligently with Tielemans on the edge of the area but was blocked off as he tried to pull the trigger.

England slowly worked their way into the contest as Loftus-Cheek headed straight at Thibaut Courtois on 15 minutes.

Harry Kane blew a terrific chance to add to his six goals in Russia, the favourite for the Golden Boot scuffing harmlessly wide after an inviting lay-off from Raheem Sterling.

Toby Alderweireld, one of six Tottenham players on the pitch, then hooked just over after a mishit Tielemans shot dropped to the Belgium defender at a corner.

Belgium lost Chadli to a hamstring injury before half-time, while Southgate introduced Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard at the break for Sterling and Rose.

Their pace and directness gave England renewed vigour, with Lingard volleying across goal just out of the reach of a lunging Kane.

They received a let-off when Lukaku failed to control a defence-splitting pass from De Bruyne, allowing Pickford to charge off his line to smother.

And it looked as though Dier was going to draw England level when he lifted the ball over Courtois, only for Alderweireld to race back to clear off the line.

With England pushing forward, Meunier nearly produced one of the goals of the tournament, his crisp volley from a Dries Mertens cross drawing an excellent one-handed stop from Pickford.

There was nothing Pickford could do though as De Bruyne and Hazard combined to wrap up the victory on 82 minutes, the latter drilling low inside the near post for his third goal of the competition.

The world No 8 is tuning herself for the World Championships, which won two years ago,  in Nanjing next month.

“I just want to have some warm up before the World Championships. I like to play in Thailand as I have a lot of supports here. I’m happy to be in the final again. It’s been a long time,” added Okuhara who was part of the Japan’s Uber Cup winning team two months ago in the Kingdom.

Okuhara will set up a rematch of the 2017 World Championship final against world No 3 Sindhu V. Pusarla of India who was taken to three games to tame reigning world junior champion Gregoria Mariska Tunjung of Indonesia 23-21 16-21 21-9.

“Young Indonesian players are up and coming, It’s important for me to win the first game. In the second game, I was nervous a bit. I gave it off. So in the third game I had to keep up with the and tried to be there in the match,” said the world No 3, looking for her first win of the year.

“It’s not going to be easy. I have to be prepared for long matches as we have always played long matches,” added Pusarla.

In the men’s singles, world No 15 Tommy Sugiarto of Indonesia continued his winning streaks in Bangkok to 9-0 after he tamed  Suppanyu Avihingsanon, the last local man in the singles event, 21-15 21-12. The world No 15 has never lost to anyone at this venue since winning the Princess Cup in January.

“I think the reason why I always play so well in Thailand is because I like the city. I always have good focus and motivation when I play here. I need to have a good recovery and stay focused for the final tomorrow,” said the Indonesian who admits that he cannot fully focus on badminton as he has to spare time for ISTC resort, a family business, in Sukabumi, 100m south of Jakarta.

He will line up the final round clash against Japanese young gun Kanta Tsuneyama beat Sony Dwi Kuncord of Indonesia 21-13 14-21 23-21 for his first final on the BWF Tour.

Kanta Tsuneyama 

“I’m happy to be in my first final but I still the final match to play tomorrow. I hope I can play well to win on Sunday,” said the 22-year-old from Shika.

Meanwhile, all Thais crashed out in the semi-final stage. Thai No 1 women’s doubles team Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai went down to Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka Takahashi 21-16 21-17.

In the men’s doubles, Maneepong Jongjit and Bodin Isara, five years after being involved in an on court fight duirng the Canadian Open final, saw their reunion come to an end, losing to Hiroyuki Endo and Yuta Watanabe of Japan 19-21 22-20 21-10.

Anderson survived a incredible endurance test in the semi-finals on Friday, beating John Isner 7-6 (8/6), 6-7 (5/7), 6-7 (9/11), 6-4, 26-24 in six hours and 36 minutes.

The 32-year-old is the first South African man to reach the Wimbledon final for 97 years.

But Anderson has little time to rest his aching body before facing Novak Djokovic or Rafael Nadal in Sunday’s final.

And he made it clear Grand Slam tournament organisers should consider a rule change — perhaps introducing a tie-break at 6-6 — to make the deciding set of five-set matches less gruelling.

“I hope this is a sign for Grand Slams to change. For us to be out there for that length of time. I really hope we can look at this, because at the end you don’t feel great,” Anderson said.

“Just playing like that in those conditions was tough on both of us.

“If I was on the opposite (losing) side I don’t know how you take it.

“I have to recover as much as I can for the final now.”

“To finish birdie-birdie was really important, and it’s fun to see your name at the top,” said Henderson, who had five birdies without a bogey in a five-under-par 66.

Hedwall had five birdies and a bogey in her 67 for nine-under par 133.

The pair were one stroke in front of overnight leader Thidapa Suwannapura of Thailand, who carded a second-round 69 at Highland Meadows Golf Club in Sylvania.

Americans Emma Talley and Jacqui Concolino and South Korean Chun In-gee shared fourth on 135.

Henderson is seeking her second title of the year and the seventh of her LPGA career.

“I’m excited to be in the final group,” said the 20-year-old from Ontario. “I haven’t been in one of those in a couple weeks and it’s just a really fun feeling … hopefully (I’ll) just give myself a lot of great looks at birdie and hopefully make them.”

Hedwall, 29, is seeking a first LPGA title, to go with eight international victories.

That includes five Ladies European Tour titles earned from 2011 through 2013.

In 2014, Hedwall suffered a wrist injury lifting her luggage off an airport carousel, and her game suffered in recent years as she tried to adapt to playing through the injury.

She holds a share of the overnight lead for the first time in  four years.

“I’ve been in this situation — it was a long time ago, though,” Hedwall said. “This is obviously what you practice and work hard for, to be in contention. I’m just going to try to enjoy myself and play some good golf.”

Thidapa struggled Friday to match the 10 birdies she produced in the first round, settling for four birdies and two bogeys in her 69.

“Today, I didn’t play my best,” said the 25-year-old from Bangkok, who is chasing her first victory on the tour. “I didn’t hit it that close to the pin. There were not many birdies today like yesterday. I’m pretty happy I ended up a couple under par today.”

Anderson survived Friday’s endurance test, beating Isner 7-6 (8/6), 6-7 (5/7), 6-7 (9/11), 6-4, 26-24 in six hours and 36 minutes.

The final set lasted just five minutes short of three hours.

The 32-year-old Anderson is the first South African man since Brian Norton 97 years ago to reach the Wimbledon final.

He will now face either Novak Djokovic or Rafael Nadal in Sunday’s final.

Their eagerly-awaited semi-final was halted just after 11pm (2200GMT) under a curfew agreement with Djokovic leading Nadal 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (11/9).

The match will finish on Saturday.

Anderson made it clear Grand Slam tournament organisers should consider a rule change to make the deciding set of five-set matches less gruelling.

“I hope this is a sign for Grand Slams to change. For us to be out there for that length of time. I really hope we can look at this, because at the end you don’t feel great,” said Anderson who has been on court for over 21 hours at these championships.

He also went five sets to beat eight-time champion Roger Federer in the quarter-finals, winning the decider 13-11.

“Just playing like that in those conditions was tough on both of us,” added.

“If I was on the opposite (losing) side I don’t know how you take it.”

Isner previously won the longest ever Grand Slam singles match against Nicolas Mahut, lasting 11 hours and five minutes over three days in the 2010 Wimbledon first round.

The 33-year-old agreed with Anderson that Wimbledon, the Australian Open and Roland Garros should fall in line with the US Open and introduce a tiebreak in the final set.

“I agree with Kevin. I personally think a sensible option would be 12-All,” said Isner, who was bidding to reach his first Slam final at the 41st attempt.

“If one person can’t finish the other off before 12-All, then do a tiebreaker. I think it’s long overdue.”

Isner finished the tournament with a record 221 aces.

Until Friday, he had not dropped serve until Anderson halted that run at 110 service games in the third set.

“I feel pretty terrible. My left heel is killing me. I have an awful blister on my right foot. I’ve felt better before,” said Isner who had also been hoping to be the first American man in a Slam final since Andy Roddick at Wimbledon in 2009.

Isner said that being part of yet another record-breaking match did not help ease his pain.

“That’s no consolation to me. I’m not going to hang my hat on that, for sure,” he said.

Friday’s epic, which finished shortly before 8pm forcing Nadal and Djokovic to start under the roof, was the longest semi-final ever played at Wimbledon, surpassing the four hours 44 minutes it took Djokovic to beat Juan Martin del Potro in 2013.

It also passed the previous mark for the second longest match at a Slam of six hours and 33 minutes which Fabrice Santoro spent seeing off Arnaud Clement in the 2004 French Open.

“It feels like it’s a draw but somebody has to win. I really feel for John,” added Anderson, who has now made his second final at a Slam after finishing runner-up to Nadal at last year’s US Open.

Anderson finished the match with 49 aces and 118 winners; Isner had 53 aces and 129 winners.

He had break points in the 15th, 21st and 35th games of the decider before taking victory when a weary Isner, who had needed treatment for blisters on his right hand, hit long.

“It just seems cruel and unusual punishment for these guys,” former champion John McEnroe said on the BBC.

Anderson will now attempt to overturn a losing record against his final opponent.

He stands at 0-5 with Nadal and 1-5 against Djokovic.

Nadal and Djokovic were meeting for the 52nd time.

Nadal, the 2008 and 2010 champion, trails Djokovic, the 2011, 2014 and 2015 winner, 26-25 in a rivalry which began at Roland Garros 12 years ago.

Nadal, 32, is back in the semi-finals at Wimbledon for the first time since 2011 when he finished runner-up to Djokovic.

He is chasing an 18th Grand Slam title which would put him just two behind Federer.

Victory in the semi-final would put him in a sixth Wimbledon final and 25th at the majors.

Djokovic, meanwhile, is seeking a fifth final at the All England Club and 22nd at the Slams.

The 31-year-old is eyeing a 13th major after making the semi-finals of a Slam for the first time since finishing runner-up at the 2016 US Open.

A month on and 63 games later, the 2018 World Cup reaches its climax on Sunday as a young France side spearheaded by Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann look to win the trophy for the second time when they take on Croatia in Moscow.

It is a final very few people could have anticipated four weeks ago, when the competition in Russia was just beginning.

Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar have all gone home. So have the traditional powers of the international game — Germany, Brazil and Argentina.

Instead it is a gifted French side with the second-youngest squad at the tournament, embodied by the lightning-quick Mbappe, who face a Croatian team inspired by Luka Modric, arguably the finest midfielder in the world at the moment.

Perhaps many neutrals will be disappointed that it has not come down to a clash between two genuine giants of the game, or that there is no South American presence.

It is just the second time that none of Brazil, Germany, Italy or Argentina have made the final, after Spain’s win over the Netherlands in 2010.

A tournament that will be remembered for the colourful presence of hordes of Latin American supporters has a final between two European sides after the continent exerted its power in the latter stages.

But this is still the World Cup final, and for France there is the possibility to join Argentina and Uruguay in winning the trophy for the second time, after 1998.

Back then, Didier Deschamps was the captain. Now he is the coach, and he can become just the third man to win the trophy as a player and a manager, after Mario Zagallo and Franz Beckenbauer.

– ‘The game of our lives’ –

“A World Cup final, it’s a bit like a boyhood dream coming true,” said midfielder Blaise Matuidi.

“We are so close to the trophy that we want to touch it. This is the game of our lives.”

Beaten on penalties by Italy in the 2006 final, France’s hunger is all the greater after the agony of their defeat as hosts against Portugal in the Euro 2016 final.

“It serves a lesson to us, and it means we know what it is to play in a final,” added Matuidi.

Half of France’s team is different now, however, with Mbappe having burst onto the scene. His explosive performance in the 4-3 win over Argentina in the last 16 lit up the competition, but apart from that France have played like a Deschamps side, with the emphasis on defence.

Les Bleus laboured through their group, beating Australia and Peru by the odd goal and drawing with Denmark in the only goalless game of the tournament.

They have since proved too strong for the Argentines, Uruguay and Belgium, and they are rightly favourites in the final, which is a repeat of the 1998 semi-final.

Back then, two Lilian Thuram goals sunk a Croatia team playing in their first World Cup as an independent nation. Twenty years on, this side have written their own history and the nation of just over four million people is the smallest to reach the final since Uruguay in 1950.

– Exhausting –

After winning all three group games, outclassing Argentina, they have beaten Denmark and Russia on penalties and defeated England in extra-time in the semi-finals.

It has been a gruelling, exhausting run for Zlatko Dalic’s team, and they must rouse themselves for one last effort.

“We took the difficult path, probably we will be the only team at a World Cup to have played eight games to get to a final if you tally up all the minutes,” admitted Dalic.

“It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It has been difficult for us but I am sure we will find the strength and motivation.”

The great, cavernous Luzhniki, by a bend in the Moscow River, will be the scene of the drama, but the biggest celebrations will take place on the streets of the winning country.

And the Croatians are confident most of the world will be supporting them.

“I have this feeling there will be hundreds of millions rooting for us on Sunday,” said Ivan Rakitic.

The world No 12 went into the contest trailing 5-2 in the head-to-heads but put up a gutsy fight to send the Uber Cup-winning team member packing with a 14-21 21-19 21-19 win after 49 minutes.

“I’ve played her many times and she has beaten me more. I never thought I wouldn’t be able to win today,” said Zhang, who moved from Singapore and settled in Las Vegas in 2012.

“I normally don’t want to rally long, just one or two shots. Neither of us could hit at our top level today as the shuttle was a bit heavy. So it was hard to change direction,” added Beiwen, who turned 28 on Wednesday.

She will take on another Japanese Nozomi Okuhara, the reigning world champion edging a nail-biting contest against countrywoman and 2016 Thailand Open victor Aya Ohori 21-12 15-21 21-19.

Beiwen will be chasing her second crown of the season, having won a Super 500  title in India and reached the final in the Super 300 US Open earlier this year.

“I want to win but I don’t want to think too far ahead. When I think too much, my mind goes somewhere else,” the American added.

In other women’s singles last-eight action, 2017 world junior champion Gregorina Mariska Tunjung of Indonesia reached her first semi-final in a Super 500, upsetting Canadian Michelle Li 21-17 21-8.

“It’s not easy to make a transition from the junior to the senior tour,” said the highly talented teenager, who has world No 1 Tai Tzu Ying of Taiwan as her idol. “You have to be physically stronger and mentally tougher to stay at the level of the good players. I still have a lot to improve.”

The last semi-final spot was booked by second seed and world No 3 Sindhu V. Pusarla of India, who relied on her attacking game to eliminate Soniia Cheah of Malaysia 21-17 21-13.

In the mixed doubles, English top seeds and world No 6 Chris Adcock and his wife Gabriella  edged out Praveen Jordan and Melati Daeva Oktavianti of Indonesia 21-18 18-21 21-18.

In today’s semi-final they will face Taiwanese third seeded Wang Chi-Lin and Lee Chia Hsin, who ousted Japan’s Yuki Kaneko and Mayu Matsumoto 21-14 21-17.

Indonesian eighth seeded Hafiz Faizal and Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja also moved ahead into the semi-finals after they toppled Chinese Xiangyu Ren and Tang Jinhua 21-14 21-15. Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai lost to Lu Kai and CHen Lu of China 21-10 18-21 21-13.

The 16-year-old  from Saraburi shot five birdies against a lone bogey on the ninth hole to dominate her third straight Thai LPGA event with a total 13 under-par-203 at the Black Mountain Golf Club.

Arpichaya, nicknamed “Piano”, won the fourth and fifth stops of the Thai LPGA Tour at the Royal Golf Course in Hua Hin and Rayong Green Valley in May and June respectively. She and Alisara were involved in a sea-saw battle when both were tied at 11 under after 14 holes.

But crucially, first-round leader Alisara, from Mae Hong Son, carded a bogey on the 15th while Arpichaya sank two birdies and never looked back, closing on 10-under-par-206.

“It’s unbelievable that I have won three in a row,” said the teenager as she clutched her winner’s cheque for Bt142,000. “I was a bit nervous as Alisara was playing so well especially, when she came up with incredible birdies on the ninth and 12 holes. I tried to keep my cool and stick to my game plan.

“I really feel thankful for my dad for carrying my bag for me this week. It gives me a special boost to have him with me on the course,” she added.

Arpichaya is also leading the Order of Merit standings with total earnings of more than Bt500,000.

Alisara, as the runner-up, took home Bt96,285 and Wanchana Poruangrong earned Bt61,175 for finishing third on 208.

The 36-year-old American eased past Germany’s Julia Goerges 6-2, 6-4 and will face another German, Angelique Kerber in Saturday’s final, her 30th Grand Slam championship match.

“It’s crazy. I don’t even know how to feel because I literally didn’t think I’d do this well in my fourth tournament back,” Williams said.

Victory on Saturday will give her an eighth Wimbledon title and 24th Grand Slam crown, taking her level with Margaret Court’s all-time mark.

It’s a staggering achievement for Williams, who defeated Kerber in the 2016 final at the All England Club before sitting out the 2017 tournament to prepare for motherhood.

Her daughter Olympia was born in September, but Williams then underwent emergency surgery to prevent life-threatening blood clots.

“It’s no secret I had a super tough delivery. I lost count after, like, four surgeries because I was in so many surgeries,” said Williams after her semi-final win on Thursday.

“It was just routine every day, I had to have a new surgery. Because of all the blood issues I have, I was really touch-and-go for a minute.

“I’m glad no one told me at the time I was going through that.”

She was bed-ridden for six weeks and only returned to the tour in March.

Wimbledon is just her fourth tournament since she signed off the tour with the 2017 Australian Open title.

“This is not inevitable for me. I couldn’t even walk to my mailbox, so it’s definitely not normal for me to be in a Wimbledon final. I’m just enjoying every moment,” Williams added.

Williams says the problems she faced after the birth of Olympia have left her in constant fear of new complications arising with a pulmonary embolism.

“For me, having to deal with PEs is more mentally challenging because if I have a pain in my leg, I automatically go to the worst-case scenario,” she said.

“That is not very easy. I mean, even this week, I had a pain in my leg, and I went to the worst-case scenario: Oh, my God, I have a PE in my leg.

“I didn’t know I would have such kind of traumatic thoughts, especially now that I have a daughter.

“I want to be around as long as I can to support her. It’s interesting how that mental recovery is actually taking much longer than I ever expected.”

Seeded 25 this year and with a world ranking of 181, Williams insists she will be the underdog against Kerber on Saturday despite boasting a 6-2 career lead over the 30-year-old left-hander.

“I don’t have anything to lose and I feel I can play so free. That’s what I’m doing,” Serena said.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Serena Williams reached her first Grand Slam final as a mother just 10 months after giving birth as the seven-time champion marched into her 10th Wimbledon title match with a 6-2, 6-4 rout of Julia Goerges on Thursday.

On 20-match winning streak at Wimbledon, Williams will face German world number 10 Angelique Kerber on Saturday in a repeat of the 2016 showpiece won by Williams.

In only her fourth tournament since the arrival of her daughter Olympia in September, the 23-time Grand Slam champion is closing in on her first major title since becoming a parent.

German 13th seed Goerges was sent packing in only 70 minutes on Centre Court.

It was a cathartic moment for the 36-year-old, who endured severe labour complications that left her needing life-saving operations.

“It’s crazy. I don’t even know how to feel. I didn’t expect to do this well in my fourth tournament back,” Williams said.

“I had a really tough pregnancy delivery. I had to have multiple surgeries and almost didn’t make it to be honest.

“I’m just enjoying every moment of this. This was not inevitable for me.”

The American star will have history in her sights against Kerber as she tries to equal Margaret Court’s record of 24 Grand Slams singles titles.

An eighth Wimbledon title would also move her past Steffi Graf into second place on the list of female Wimbledon champions, behind nine-time winner Martina Navratilova.

Serena will go into her 30th Grand Slam final — her first since winning the 2017 Australian Open — holding a 6-2 lead in her head to head record against Kerber.

“She is clearly a really good grass-court player. But whatever happens it’s a great moment for me and incredible motivation to keep going for the rest of my career,” Serena added.

After all the controversy about the decision to seed Williams 25th at Wimbledon despite her position at 181 in the WTA rankings, she has proved the tournament’s officials were actually too conversative.

Williams, who missed Wimbledon last year due to her pregnancy, won the grass-court Grand Slam on her previous two visits in 2015 and 2016.

Twenty years after making her Wimbledon debut as a precocious teenager and 16 years since her first title at the All England Club, Serena remains the pre-eminent force in the women’s game.

In a testament to her remarkable longevity, the former world number one has now made at least one Grand Slam final for the last 12 years.

Serena had lost only one of her 10 previous Wimbledon semi-finals and the 11th followed a familiar script.

When a panicked Goerges error wrapped up the first set, Serena’s dominance was so total that the American, whose emotions are usually on full display, barely acknowledged the moment.

By the time a Goerges drop-shot drifted into net to present Serena with the decisive break in the sixth game of the second set, the contest had already been sapped of any drama and moments later the title favourite was waving to the crowd in celebration.

Earlier, Kerber raced into her second Wimbledon final and fourth Grand Slam showpiece as the German crushed former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 6-3 in 67 minutes.

The 30-year-old hit only 10 winners but that was all it took to get the job done as Latvian 12th seed Ostapenko shot herself in the foot with 36 unforced errors.

“I was just trying to move good and take my chances. I’m so excited,” Kerber said.

“It’s such a great feeling to be back in the final. Playing on Centre Court is always great.”

Referencing her dismal form last year, Kerber added: “2017 is over and I’m really happy about that. We are in 2018!

“I’m really happy and proud to be in a Grand Slam final. These are the matches I was working for since I was a kid.”

It will be Kerber’s first Grand Slam final since she won the second of her two major titles at the 2016 US Open.

Kerber, who also won the Australian Open in 2016, is bidding to become the first German woman to win Wimbledon since Graf in 1996.