Split town, split hearts: Town of Comines supporting both France and Belgium ahead of World Cup semifinal

A Belgian fan cheers on his side at the World Cup. Photo / AP

As European rivals France and Belgium clash in tomorrow's World Cup semifinal, one small town is sure of having its country in the World Cup final.

Comines is a 30,000-inhabitant municipality split by the Lys River, which is also the boundary between France and Belgium, where customs disappeared in 1999 with the creation of the Schengen Area.

Most of the families are binational and "the border means nothing for them, except at World Cup time" points out the local newspaper La Voix du Nord. The clash makes duel supporters of the town folk.

The French news channel BFM-TV asked two young boys in Comines their prediction. "France," says one. The other announces: "Reds devils", before the first teen, apparently not exactly sure of who he wants and who he has to support, shouts: "Both!"

🇫🇷⚽🇧🇪 D'un côté la France, de l'autre la Belgique... A Comines, le #FRABEL a déjà une saveur particulière : "Ici, on est vraiment toute une famille. La Belgique et la France, on est toujours tous ensemble !" 😏

📝 Le live CM2018 ici ➡ https://t.co/5Zh62TBw0i #RMCLive pic.twitter.com/iTNrfMxJEe

— Breaking Foot (@BreakingFootRMC) July 8, 2018

Other fans interviewed admitted "it is the best game possible", calling players and fans to be respectful.

In the quarter-final phase, fans gathered together to back both teams against Uruguay and Brazil but it won't be the case tomorrow.

Authorities of both countries have decided to close the frontier in order to avoid any misbehaviour.

La fête de voisins.
La plus belle illustration à Comines.
⁦@NordEclairWeb⁩ #FRABEL pic.twitter.com/0pj2REHWq4

— Lionel Gougelot (@Lgougelot) July 9, 2018

Surprisingly, the French have never annexed the Belgian part of the town divided since 1713. According to the locals, they quickly understood the price of the beer in the bars is much cheaper on the other side of the border.