The French team is still scary in Belgium but…

Is the French team still intimidating as much as it was five months ago? Favorites for the final victory before the start of the Euro, the Blues recorded the biggest drop in predictions choose in recent days (France has gone from a 19.1% chance of being crowned to 13.4%, according to figures from the prediction tool). The fault lies in a first part of the tournament that was not very consistent, during which the French team did not know how to find the recipe to score on its own in the game, and which saw it finish second in its group in a major tournament for the first time under the Deschamps era. Obviously, the news surrounding the state of mind in the locker room – where frustration and fracture with the coach seem to be gaining more and more momentum – reinforces the idea of ​​a team possibly at the end of its cycle. In Belgium, however, we remain cautious about everything that can be said, read, or heard about the French team.

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Sacha Tavolieri, Belgian journalist and follower of the Red Devils, does not lose face: “the French team is a lazy team in terms of what it is capable of doing in the content, a bit like the student always at the back of the class, who does not do his homework, but who always gets 8/10 on his examshe metaphors. But obviously they remain feared, even if they are down 2-0, as we saw against Argentina. Here in Belgium, everyone is aware of their ability to raise their level in the final phase. Beating the French team would be the feat of a lifetime“, he insists. Loïc Woos, independent journalist for Walfoot.be and currently on site in Germany to follow the Devils, goes in the same direction: “It would be an achievement to beat France. Belgium is in a generational transition phase. I compared the lines of the two teams with a colleague. Even if a match is not decided on paper, Belgium’s defensive line is made up of mid-table players from Ligue 1, the Premier League, and Anderlecht. France is Barcelona, ​​Liverpool, Arsenal… We are not boxing in the same category. Then I do not think there are huge concerns to have for France. Even if its group phase was not reassuring, no one created more chances than it.”

To read
France – Belgium: a last minute package for the Red Devils!

Reasons for hope to believe in the feat

Nevertheless, all the Belgian specialists contacted allow themselves the right to hope. First, because the French team still showed certain limits in the group stage, but also because Belgium has never been as strong as when it put on the underdog costume: “Yes, there is something to be done. When she is in this little duck posture, she can quickly become the big bad goosesourit Tavolieri. We also saw in the group stage that there could be opportunities against this French team, it will be an open match, but Belgium is not going to lose 5-0.» Patrick Gaparata, founder of the Belgium Touch account on X, goes in the same direction: “Tedesco’s Belgium showed that it knew how to raise its level of play in the face of adversity, and we saw it against Germany and England. Today, considering the group stage of the France team, I think it’s the best time to come across them. What if it would be an achievement? Historically, yes, but at the start of the Euro, no”, he decides. Loïc Woos, follower of the Devils, also remains aware of the weaknesses of the Blues, which must be supported: “the power of France is recognized in Belgium, but we also saw that it was not unplayable. Koundé is not a full-back by training and there is something to do with Doku, Upamecano is a great defender but can sometimes be caught up by his swings in concentration, we can also take them behind the back in transition…”he decrypts.

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Another fact to take into account, and not the least, is the poor form of the technical leaders of the France team, namely Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappé. “I prefer to pull France over Spain in terms of confidence. Mbappé is coming off a statistically exceptional season, but after a trying year, it doesn’t seem like he’s in a position to flip the switch like he’s been able to in the past. Griezmann, for his part, is no longer capable of being this all-terrain midfielder like in 2022. When he is in good shape, France makes three finals, when he is less so, France is eliminated in the 1/8th round. the Euro in 2021 », recalls Patrick Gabarata. For Sacha, you should be wary of a wounded animal. Because Antoine Griezmann could well be the X factor of this meeting. “I think it will depend on his form, in moments like that, through his freshness, his solidarity, his imprint, he is capable of allowing France to win. And he has something to play for compared to his start to the Euro, he has revenge to take. It would also be a way to finish in style afterwards, because afterwards, he will surely no longer be there.”.

Even 6 years later, the spirit of revenge is still there

Water has flowed under the bridge since the 2018 World Cup semi-final. Roberto Martinez is no longer there, Eden Hazard has retired, while on the French side, only 3 starters from the time are still there today. today (Kanté, Mbappé, Griezmann). However, when reading the Belgian daily newspapers, this idea of “revenge”. “Playing against France is like when you play against your cousin who always makes fun of you. When you finally beat him up, it’s enjoyable, but that happens every 15 years. What the Belgian media are sweating is, in some way, their fantasy. Everyone is aware of the quality of the French team here, but they are also jealous.estimates Sacha Tavolieri.

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«The spirit of revenge is there, but I don’t particularly have the impression that it is against Francethe nuance of Loïc Noos. There was a real trauma in 2018, not caused by France, but by the fact that for the first time in its history, Belgium had the hope of winning a trophy, but it was swept away on a corner.» Clément Pierard, Community Manager of the Belgian Players account on X, still believes that the 2018 meeting, and the story that followed, created a rivalry between the two nations: “as with the Netherlands, there is the linguistic border which means that this spirit of rivalry will always be there between France and Belgium. Today it turned around, France is much stronger, but it still remains a special match“, he insists. A special match, likely to boost the players’ egos according to Tavolieri: “In the minds of the Devils, the idea is to show everyone that we are not so small, that’s the state of mind in Belgium. The players’ egos are pushed to the limit when we play against France, even more than their own honor of representing the coat of arms as such”he considers.