France vs Belgium Preview & Prediction | 2024-25 UEFA Nations League | League A Group 2
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France went ahead very early on against Italy but pressure has risen on Didier Deschamps after Les Bleus were comfortably beaten by Italy, whilst Belgium eased to a comfortable victory against Israel the other day.
KICK-OFF DATE/TIME: Monday 9th September, 2024 - UK – 7:45pm / US ET – 2:45pm / US PT – 11:45am
HOW TO WATCH ON TV: UK – TBC / US – FOX Sports
HOW TO WATCH ONLINE: UK – TBC / US – FOX Sports streaming platforms
FRANCE PREVIEW: CONCERNS FOR LES BLEUS
At UEFA EURO 2024, France reached the semi-finals but they were truly awful to watch. The French didn’t score a goal from open play until Randal Kolo Muani opened the scoring for Les Bleus in their semi-final defeat to eventual winners Spain.
The two-time world champions are under a bit of pressure, especially after Bradley Barcola opened the scoring after 13 seconds before Italy turned the game on its head with goals from Federico Dimarco, Davide Frattesi and Giacomo Raspadori.
BELGIUM PREVIEW: RED DEVIL REBUILD
Under the management of the under fire and under pressure Domenico Tedesco, Belgium needed a good performance and a comfortable victory against Israel in the opener and they sort of got that.
The Belgians took the lead after 21 minutes with a goal from Kevin De Bruyne before Timothy Castagne scored an own goal 15 minutes later to mean the teams were level at half-time. De Bruyne, though, completed a brace in the second-half before Youri Tielemans made it 3-1.
FRANCE TEAM NEWS: BARCOLA BRILLIANCE
The major positive from the other night would be the early finish and composure of Bradley Barcola, who has had a magnificent start to the season with PSG. Sevilla defender Loic Bade remains unavailable due to injury, though.
PREDICTED XI (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Clauss, Konate, Saliba, Hernandez; Zaire-Emery, Kante; Olise, Griezmann, Barcola; Mbappe
UNAVAILABLE: Bade (Injured)
QUESTIONABLE:
BELGIUM TEAM NEWS: LIKELY TO BE UNCHANGED
Given the fact that Belgium comfortably won the other day, there is an expectation that Tedesco names an unchanged side for this one. The main selection issue remains the absence of Thibaut Courtois, who says he will not play again for Tedesco.
PREDICTED XI (4-2-3-1): Casteels; Castagne, Faes, Theate, De Cuyper; Onana, Tielemans; Lukebakio, De Bruyne, Doku; Openda
UNAVAILABLE:
QUESTIONABLE:
FRANCE VS BELGIUM PREDICTION
France have struggled for cohesive attacking patterns of play for a while now and have actually been sliced open by both Spain and Italy in the last couple of months. Les Bleus’ openness will excite a front four for Belgium that consists of Jeremy Doku, Kevin De Bruyne, Lois Openda and potentially the returning Johan Bakayoko. It could be quite a surprisingly fun encounter for this one so both teams scoring may well be a good value bet.
FRANCE VS BELGIUM TIP: BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE
