France vs Belgium: Kick-off time, team news, prediction, h2h and odds
France will seek to bounce back from their galling defeat by Italy when they host Belgium in another heavyweight Nations League clash on Monday night.
Les Bleus took the lead against the Azzurri after just 13 seconds – the fastest goal in French history – at the Parc des Princes through Bradley Barcola, but went on to suffer their first loss to Italy in Paris for 70 years after goals from Federico Dimarco, Davide Frattesi and Giacomo Raspadori plus an inspired display from Newcastle’s Sandro Tonali in his first international appearance since serving a 10-month ban for breaching betting rules.
It was a hugely disappointing performance and result for Didier Deschamps, whose much-fancied team largely flattered to deceive throughout Euro 2024 and found goals very hard to come by despite their array of attacking riches as they fell to eventual winners Spain in the semi-finals.
Improvement is needed to avoid a potential third successive loss in Lyon on Monday, with Belgium high on confidence after beginning their Nations League Group A2 campaign with a 3-1 win over Israel on Friday night.
Manchester City captain Kevin De Bruyne netted twice in a game played behind closed doors in Hungary, with Aston Villa’s Youri Tielemans also on target to start bouncing back from a somewhat torrid European Championship campaign under Domenico Tedesco in which they were booed by their own fans before Jan Vertonghen’s late own goal saw them fall to France in the last 16 in Dusseldorf.
Date, kick-off time and venue
France vs Belgium is scheduled for a 7:45pm BST kick-off on Monday September 9, 2024.
The match will take place at Groupama Stadium in Lyon.
Where to watch France vs Belgium
TV channel: The game is not being broadcast live on TV in the UK.
Live stream: However, it is available to watch live online for free courtesy of the Viaplay International YouTube channel.
Live blog: You can follow all the action on matchday via Standard Sport’s live blog.
France vs Belgium team news
Paris Saint-Germain starlet Warren Zaire-Emery has withdrawn from the France squad ahead of Belgium’s visit, having suffered a calf injury after replacing N’Golo Kante late on during Friday’s loss to Italy.
Sevilla defender Loic Bade was drafted into the squad last week following Wesley Fofana’s return to Chelsea, but missed Friday’s game and is expected to remain out on Monday too.
Sidelined: Warren Zaire-Emery has withdrawn from the France squad before facing Belgium
REUTERS
Lucas Digne and Matteo Guendouzi were also late call-ups by Deschamps following the respective withdrawals of Real Madrid pair Ferland Mendy and Aurelien Tchouameni, while Michael Olise made his senior France debut from the off against Italy.
There is no Romelu Lukaku in a more youthful-looking Belgium squad, while goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois said last month that he would not play for his country again while Tedesco was still in charge following a previous bust-up.
Celtic’s record signing Arne Engels is suspended, while Club Brugge full-back Maxim De Cuyper has returned to his club due to a hamstring issue.
France vs Belgium prediction
Let’s hope this game brings decidedly more entertainment than the Euro 2024 last-16 tie between these two sides back in July.
Both France and Belgium flattered to deceive that day in Dusseldorf and indeed throughout the tournament as a whole, despite both having no shortage of firepower and Deschamps’ men eventually reaching the last four.
Belgium are something of a team in transition with their much-hyped ‘golden generation’ now over, but they still have plenty of star power including De Bruyne, Manchester City team-mate Jeremy Doku and Villa’s Amadou Onana.
Tough watch: There wasn’t much to choose between France and Belgium in their last-16 tie at Euro 2024
Getty Images
A short trip to France will hold no fears for Tedesco’s side after they brushed aside Israel, though you get the sense that Les Bleus will be extremely motivated to get back to winning ways after suffering back-to-back competitive losses for the first time in nine years.
Head to head (h2h) history and results
Before their last-16 tie at Euro 2024, France and Belgium had met only once since Les Bleus won a tense World Cup semi-final in Russia in 2018 – a five-goal Nations League semi-final thriller in October 2021 in which Theo Hernandez notched a last-gasp winner after France had fought back from 2-0 down.
France vs Belgium match odds
Odds via Betfair (subject to change).