Belgium for the Blues in the 8th, feat of Georgia against Portugal

It will therefore be Belgium. The French team, qualified without momentum or certainty for the round of 16 of Euro 2024, will face Belgium, not much better off, next Monday in Düsseldorf.

On the last day of the group stage on Wednesday, Willy Sagnol’s Georgia, for their first participation in a Euro, created a feat by beating Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal 2-0, thus qualifying for the last 16 where they will face the Spanish giants.

Kevin De Bruyne’s Red Devils, who were defeated at the start by Slovakia (1-0), got back on track against Romania (2-0). They failed to beat Ukraine on Wednesday in Stuttgart (0-0) and finished second in a group where, for the first time, the four teams have the same number of points after the final day of the group stage, overtaken by Romania according to the rather complex criteria established by UEFA.

They also constitute, on paper, the strongest opponents that France could have faced in the last 16. Unable to retain first place in their group the day before, Kylian Mbappé’s partners find themselves in the middle of the table with the best European nations (Spain, Germany and Portugal).

In addition to Belgium in the round of 16, France finds itself in the part of the final table where Germany, the host country, Spain and Portugal, the scarecrows of the first round, also meet.

This is not the case for Belgium. Like many nations candidate for the title, including France, England and Italy, it qualified without convincing. The Belgians are like their center forward Romelu Lukaku, once again silent against Ukraine in Stuttgart. The top Belgian scorer in history established a new European record with 14 goals during qualifying for this Euro, but has not scored in the final phase of an international competition, Euro or World Cup, since the previous Euro championship. Europe, in 2021.

A reason for hope for France, who will nevertheless have to be wary of the feeling of revenge that has driven the Red Devils since the semi-final of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, lost 1-0 to Les Bleus, which had deeply and lastingly vexed them.

France-Belgium is also a classic. Belgium is the opponent that France has faced most often in its history: 75 matches, 26 victories and 30 defeats (131 bp, 162 bc). It is also the very first, 3-3 in Brussels on May 1, 1904.

If Belgium qualified painfully, eliminating Ukraine and Romania at the same time, it resisted Slovakia and the bad weather.

Before a huge storm further damaged the already badly damaged pitch at the Frankfurt stadium, they pulled one goal back from Slovakia thanks to a penalty following a foul on Ianis Hagi, the son of Georges, the famous “Maradona of the Carpathians”, converted by Razvan Marin.

First in Group E, Romania returns to the round of 16 which it had only reached once in its history in 2000 and will meet the Netherlands, 3rd in Group D, that of France.

Despite their draw, thanks to their four points, Slovakia will also see the elimination phase. She will even have a chance to play in the eighth against the pale English, favorites at the start of the tournament, who have continued to disappoint since.

Historical feat of Georgia

But the feat of the day is to be put to the credit of Georgia, the competition’s underdog, who beat Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal 2-0 and thus qualified for the last 16 as well, for their first participation in a major international competition.

The stars Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Georges Mikautadze and Giorgi Mamardashvili, the only three in the squad, gave themselves the right to challenge Spain, the most convincing team of the first round, which emerged without incident from the group of death which also included Italy and Croatia, Sunday in Cologne.

In Gelsenkirchen, taking full advantage of the few offensive crumbs at its disposal, Georgia shocked the Seleçao, already qualified and heavily reworked at kick-off, and sent its noisy supporters, who had come to represent their 3.7 million compatriots, to heaven.

The noise also resounded in all the streets of all the major German cities, under the concert of horns offered by the strong Turkish community in the country, celebrating the qualification of Turkey, victorious 2-1 over the Czech Republic in Hamburg, in an incandescent atmosphere.

With two wins and six points, Vincenzo Montella’s men finished second in their group – behind Portugal on goal difference – and will face Austria in Leipzig in the round of 16. The Czech Republic, with 1 point, are in last place in the standings and are eliminated.

The group stage is now closed. The serious stuff can begin. The start of hostilities is scheduled for Saturday, June 29 in Berlin, with a mouth-watering Switzerland-Italy match.

Source : AFP