France is putting Belgium under pressure at the start of the match, this Monday in Brussels during the 4th day of the League of Nations.
21:13 – Deschamps tries to re-mobilize his team
Didier Deschamps shouts from his sidelines to try to help his players and gets angry at their difficulties. Without being able to remedy it for the moment.
9:10 p.m. – Barcola appears dangerous
On a long ball from Digne, Barcola managed a superb control in the middle of the race before cutting back into the middle and surprising the Belgians. He then rolls up a powerful shot but Casteels deflects well!
21:08 – Tielemans hits the penalty over the top!
Youri Tielemans has taken responsibility but he sends the ball well above Mike Maignan’s goal! The score remains 0-0 after around twenty minutes of play. Note that Saliba took a yellow card for this foul on Openda.
21:07 – Penalty for Belgium!
Belgium gets a penalty! Saliba, chasing Openda towards goal after a French loss of the ball in the middle, is caught by the Belgian striker’s hook and commits a gross foul. The VAR checks if Openda was offside but this is ultimately not the case. Tielemans grabs the ball for this penalty.
9:04 p.m. – The Maignan parade!
After Konaté loses the ball on the halfway line, Trossard can run towards the goal at full speed. He plays the shot well and uses Openda’s call to open the path to goal and strike hard but Maignan deflects! The corner that follows ultimately achieves nothing.
21:01 – Corner for France
The French team manages to leave their camp for the first time in ten minutes. The Blues obtain a first corner. Tchouaméni deflects at the penalty spot but at the far post, Barcola can only find Casteels’ small outside net.
20:58 – Openda deflects a cross from Tielemans
Following a still impressive action from Doku on the right, Tielemans inherits the ball along the touchline and crosses hard to the near post. Openda cuts the trajectory but fails to get the shot on target.
20:57 – The dangerous center of Doku
Jérémy Doku once again moved to his right side and managed to cross at the end of the race, aiming for the far post and Loïs Openda. But the former Lens striker is too short, even though he threw himself.
20:55 – The French defense clears
Put under pressure during a free kick from 40 meters, the French defense managed as best they could but the ball was immediately lost by the Blues, who were in difficulty at the start of the match.
20:52 – Digne already collects a yellow
Lucas Digne commits a gross foul on Jérémy Doku along the touchline, caught by the City player’s dribbles. The Bosnian referee shows the first yellow card of the match, which will complicate the task of the French full-back for the rest of the match.
20:50 – Doku on the right, Trossard on the left
Small details on the Belgian team. Doku plays on the right of the attack finally, with Trossard on the left on the other side, while De Ketelaere occupies the axis, or even the middle of the field in the defensive phase. In defense, Zebast plays on the right side and Castagne on the left. Former Ligue 1 players Faes and Theate form the central defense.
20:48 – Maignan obliged to already work
Belgium is the first team to stand out. After an overflow on the left and a good cross from Trossard, De Ketelaere manages to put it behind for Tielemans, but the Belgian captain’s shot is directly on Maignan, who catches the ball.
20:46 – Here we go between Belgium and France!
Bosnian referee Irfan Peljto whistles the kick-off for this meeting between France and Belgium on the lawn of the King Baudouin stadium. It’s the French who are in charge!
20:42 – The players enter the pitch
The players from Belgium and France enter the King Baudouin lawn. The kick-off will be given just after the anthems of the two nations.
20:39 – Update on the classification of group A
After three matches played in this League of Nations and before the two matches (Belgium – France and Italy – Israel), here is an update on the ranking in group 2 of League A:
- 1) Italy – 7 points (+3)
- 2) France – 6 points (+3)
- 3) Belgium – 4 points (0)
- 4) Israel – 0 points (-6)
20:35 – Belgium-Faes: “It’s up to us to have a big match”
Former Stade de Reims defender Wout Faes, indisputable starter with Belgium under the orders of Domenico Tedesco, gave his opinion on this new duel this Monday evening against the France team at a press conference. “The two recent meetings against the French were very different. We must be able to play better for longer. You cannot press for 90 minutes, he explained on Sunday. I think we must defend more as a unit, that could have helped us to score a goal, running behind the result is much more complicated. France is a very good team, it’s up to us to put out a big game. They have several players who are among the top in the world.
20:30 – Belgium-Tedesco: “It would be great to win against France”
Under pressure because of Belgium’s disappointing results in recent months, coach Domenico Tedesco has not lost hope of qualifying for the quarter-finals of the Nations League. But we have to win this Monday evening against the Blues to maintain real hope. “We will have to show courage and absolutely take advantage of advantageous situations, therefore be efficient and try to lead! If we have three or four chances in the first half, we will have to score,” he logically explained in press conference. I still believe in second place in the group (…) It would be great to win against France. Is the team discouraged to lose against the French? The glass is always half full in my opinion (smile). But it is clear that we will need a fantastic match to get something done, but look at the core they have…”
20:25 – France-Deschamps: “I don’t think we can talk about ascendancy”
The French team remains on four consecutive victories in all competitions against Belgium, including twice this year: in the round of 16 of Euro 2024 (1-0) and in the Nations League a month ago, at Lyon (2-0). But Didier Deschamps does not think that this gives the Blues an advantage: “The last matches are history. I am not convinced that it gives a psychological advantage, explained the French coach at a press conference on Sunday. We will have a Belgian team motivated, as it always is, but especially a little more on Monday I don’t think we can talk about an ascendant because it’s not the same context, not the same players either.
20:20 – France’s favorite
For this League of Nations meeting, France is given the favorite by the various sports betting sites for this match on the 4th day of the competition. The odds for a French victory range between 2.1 and 2.4 while that for a Belgian victory at home is between 2.5 and 3. The odds for a draw are around 3.3.
8:15 p.m. – A match to follow on TF1
This match between Belgium and France will obviously be broadcast unencrypted on French television since it will be visible on TF1, a channel for which you do not need to subscribe. To follow this meeting on the Internet between the Red Devils and the Blues, from 8:45 p.m. this Monday, October 14, you must go on the TF1 website.
20:10 – Mbappé, the absentee everyone is talking about
Didier Deschamps once again had to put together a team without his main asset and captain, Kylian Mbappé. Absent from this gathering, although he had played with Real Madrid after the announcement of his withdrawal from the Blues, Mbappé was seen in Sweden at the end of last week, which did not fail to cause controversy. Without this disturbing the French players. “Frankly, I think we’re doing it a little too much. Everyone has the right to think what they want, but every time it’s Kylian, it takes on disproportionate proportions, explained the new captain at a press conference. of the Blues, Aurélien Tchouaméni We spoke with him before the match, after the match, and where he followed him does not necessarily matter, in truth His love for the French team. It’s no longer to be dismantled. We can’t wait for it to come back.”
20:05 – Belgium: Openda holder
Obliged, or almost, to win this Monday evening against the Blues, Belgium will have to do without its veterans Kevin De Bruyne, Thomas Meunier and Romelu Lukaku (left to rest by coach Domenico Tedesco for this truce, editor’s note) , not to mention Thibaut Courtois, who has withdrawn from the national team for the moment. Under pressure, Tedesco trusts former RC Lens striker Loïs Openda up front, supported by Doku, Trossard and De Ketelaere in a 4-2-3-1 system. Belgium’s starting lineup: Casteels – Debast, Faes, Theate, Castagne – Mangala, Tielemans – De Ketelaere, Trossard, Doku – Openda.
8:00 p.m. – France: Kolo Muani preferred to Thuram
For this match between Belgium and France, Didier Deschamps is making several changes compared to the victory against Israel on Thursday (4-1). Up front, it’s finally Randal Kolo Muani who starts, preferred to Marcus Thuram. His PSG teammates Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembélé start on the sides. In his 4-2-3-1, Deschamps chose to place Mattéo Guendouzi higher than Aurélien Tchouaméni and Manu Koné in midfield. France’s starting lineup: Maignan – Koundé, Konaté, Saliba, Digne – Ma. Koné, Tchouaméni (c) – O. Dembélé, Guendouzi, Barcola – Kolo Muani.
19:55 – France remains a victory against Israel
The French team remains on a victory without shining in Budapest against the Israel team (4-1). In front of barely more than 2,000 spectators and in pouring rain, the Blues provided minimum service against the Israelis, thanks to goals from Camavinga, Nkunku, Guendouzi and Barcola. But the French performance disappointed, against the weakest team in the group (which also includes Belgium and Italy).
19:50 – The Blues aim for qualification
The players of the French team have the opportunity to take a big step towards the quarter-finals of the Nations League if they succeed this Monday evening in the Belgian capital against the Belgians. A victory would in fact give the Blues five points ahead of the Red Devils two days before the end of the group stage. As a reminder, the first two teams in each League A group will compete in the quarter-finals, which will be played in the form of two-way matches. The four winners of the quarter-finals will finally compete in the last four at least in June 2025.