Belgium suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of France in St. Petersburg on Tuesday. France qualified for the World Cup final, while Belgium will face the loser of the upcoming semi-final match between England and Croatia in the third place play-off on Saturday.

"The game was very tight... When we started in the second half with a better tempo, we were looking a little bit stronger and probably growing into the game, but we conceded a goal from the corner... France wanted to exploit the counterattack, with the pace of [forward Kylian] Mbappe and [forward Antoine] Griezmann, and we controlled that extremely well... That was the difference, they had a little bit of luck," Martinez told journalists.

He added that he was proud of his squad, as they lost "with a lot of effort," and that he congratulated France and wished them luck in the final.

"We had 60 percent of possession in the first half, and I think it went up to 68-69 [percent] in the second half... I didn't see France being stronger mentally... That first goal was going to be vital... I think we were really strong defending the ball in the [set piece] situations, France've been strong in that department... But I don't think it has been a weakness of our play," Martinez said.

The 2018 World Cup kicked off on 14 June and will continue until 15 July, with the final set to be played at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium.