Throughout this week, the Café sansfilter show will be with Carlo Morelo. And a few hours before the meeting between Belgium and France in the round of 16 of Euro 2024, the channel handed its microphone to Jonathan Lange, sent to Germany. The latter gives us from the outset the clues to the difficulty of a Belgian victory. “Unfortunately, Belgium has never beaten France in a major competition. It all started in 1984 with a 5-0 victory for the French. Obviously, we all remember what happened in 2018, and in 2021 where the final score was even crueler since the Devils led 2-0 at half-time.”
The question that needs to be asked is therefore the following: why can’t we beat the EDF? Jonathan Lange refutes the hypothesis of a question of mentality. “No, not at all. I think that above all there is a question of quality, that’s what makes the difference at the highest level. It’s a question of details. We must not create psychodrama, psychological blockage. Then we must realize that there are 66 million inhabitants in France, at least 5x less in Belgium. Their reservoir is therefore more important.”
When analysing the Belgian national team, the sports journalist is cautious when comparing it to the previous generation. “For the moment, it is neither better nor worse. It is different. We have to let it grow. They are, however, uninhibited (..) but we have to give them time. Afterwards, you don’t necessarily win a tournament with the best players, Didier Deschamps often says, but with the best group of 23.”
Finally, when asked about a favourite for the match on Monday evening, “It’s going to be tight. The whole seum thing? Yes, it’s starting to get on my nerves. For me, Spain is my favourite in the competition.”
