*By Christian Smith*
For soccer fans it feels like the 2018 FIFA World Cup only kicked off but moments ago, yet the tournament is already down to its final four teams: Belgium, Croatia, England, and France.
France and Belgium start off the semifinals Tuesday at 1 pm ET in St. Petersburg. Both teams looked strong in their last matches ー France as it overwhelmed Uruguay 2-0, and Belgium as it upset early tournament favorite Brazil 2-1 in rather convincing fashion.
*Les Bleus* have won the World Cup once before in 1998 and with a stacked squad that includes rising \(arguably risen\) star Kylian Mbappé they could easily do it again.
Belgium, however, has something to prove. The country has never made it to the World Cup finals. *The Red Devils*' best showing was in 1986 when the team lost in the semifinals and the third-place game. The Belgian team has shown that it has what it takes to win big games, but with less consistency, Mike Murphy, deputy editor at Quartz, said on Cheddar Monday.
"I feel like they kind of get unraveled at times," Murphy said. "I think that France is probably the stronger team. I think they really just have shown that they're a little bit more of a team."
Don't count out Croatia and England quite yet. The two teams go head to head Wednesday at 1 pm ET in Moscow.
It would seem that Croatia has an uphill battle, recovering from two long, physical matches that ended in penalty kicks. But team captain Luka Modrić showed that he still has gas in the tank with a few breakaways at the end of extra time against Russia. It's the country's second semifinal appearance, the first being in 1998 - the first year Croatia competed as its own country in the World Cup.
England, which fielded one of the youngest teams in this year's tournament, looked rested and ready to go in the team's 2-0 sweep against Sweden. Forward Harry Kane will be one to watch in the match-up. He's the leading goalscorer in the tournament, although many of those goals came from penalties.
The winners of both matches will face off in the finals Sunday at 11 am ET in Moscow. The losers will have to pick themselves up and head back to the field for the third-place playoff game Saturday at 10 am ET in St. Petersburg.
For the full segment, [click here.](https://cheddar.com/videos/previewing-the-world-cup-semifinals)
For the first time in the history of the storied men's college basketball rivalry between Duke University and the University of North Carolina, the two teams will be meeting directly in the NCAA tournament — and in the Final Four! Sean Green, the co-founder of the Sports Gambling Podcast Network, joined Cheddar to give his take on the possible final game of legendary Duke coach, Mike Krzyzewski. "Now, if you recall, UNC actually beat Duke in Coach K's final home regular-season game, so revenge is going to be on the mind of Duke in this Final Four game, and I think they have the best of UNC. I like them laying four points," Green said. He also picked Villanova with an upset win over Kansas.
This June marks the 25th anniversary of the infamous 1997 "Bite Fight”, the iconic boxing rematch between Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield when Tyson shockingly bit a piece of his opponent’s ear off. As a macabre tribute to the incident, the boxing legend’s line of cannabis products, Tyson 2.0, has released “Mike Bites", edibles in the shape of an ear complete with a bite mark. Tyson, the chief brand officer and co-founder, along with CEO Adam Wilks joined Cheddar News to talk about the unique gummies. "I just think this is just me owning what I did. I'm owning my responsibility. I've done that. That was pretty bad at the time, but I turned it over to make it pretty good," the former heavyweight champion said.
U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Famer and former Olympian Nancy Kerrigan spoke to Cheddar News about joining Ice Dreams, a national skating tour that connects legends of the sport with its next generation. Kerrigan spoke of the lessons she learned from the sport and how grateful she is for the opportunity to give something back. “I mean skating has taught me some of the greatest things in in my life," she said. "You know, you fall down, things get hard, but you get back up and you keep on trying. And if you're performing and doing something you love, I think you would actually do even better.”
Stephen Smith, Founder and CEO of Kitman Labs, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he explains how his company's intelligence platform is engineering change in how athletes and sports teams prepare for games.
Sportswear giant Adidas is giving student-athletes the opportunity to become partners as affiliate brand ambassadors to help grow their networks as professional athletes. Attorney Darren Heitner, the founder of Heitner Legal, joined Cheddar News to talk about the legalities of the process. "It is absolutely a game-changer because we see a major brand make a big splash, nine months into name image and likeness rights for college athletes," he said. "While it is a paid brand affiliate type of partnership, it will open the door for 50,000-plus athletes across the country to start making some money, even if it's just through other people clicking their links and making purchases."
State and county taxpayers will be asked to commit a record $850 million in public funds toward construction of the Buffalo Bills’ new stadium as part of a 30-year lease agreement.
Saint Peter's University - a small school in New Jersey school - has skyrocketed to the center of the sports world in a 'Cinderella' story for the record books. The ultimate underdog of the men's March Madness tournament is just the third 15-seed to reach the Sweet 16, after beating Murray State and college basketball powerhouse Kentucky. Throughout the university's historic run, Saint Pete's has reportedly been earning what amounts to millions of dollars in publicity. Amanda Christovich, reporter for Front Office Sports, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
ESPN College Gameday LaPhonso Ellis joins Cheddar Bets to break down the NCAA Tournament so far, and who will make noise all the way down to New Orleans.
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