After a controlled but frustrating group stage, the French team faces Belgium in the round of 16.
To hope to qualify for the quarter-finals, the Blues will have to improve their offensive efficiency, which has been at half mast since their arrival in Germany.
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Euro 2024
Similar problems… who will find the key? France and Belgium meet again on Monday (9 p.m., live on TF1, streaming on TF1+), in the round of 16 of the Euro. A confrontation that smells of 2018, when the Blues had pushed aside the Red Devils in the semi-finals on the road to their second world title. Since then, a lot of water has flowed under the bridge, especially on the side of the “flat country” with a golden age that seems to be over. The transition was smoother on the French side, but only three of the starters from that time (N’Golo Kanté, Antoine Grizmann and Kylian Mbappé) are still there today.
In this Euro, however, the two teams completed a fairly identical first round, finishing second in their respective groups. Another similarity between the neighbors is their inability to appear attractive in the game. To make matters worse, they also fail to convert their chances, which contributes, it must be said, to the bad impression left. Moreover, during the group stage, only Serbia (3.8%) had a lower shot conversion rate than France and Belgium (4.2% of their attempts were converted into goals ), according to the statistician Opta. Result of the races, despite offensive talent beyond knowing what to do with it, French and Belgians only scored twice. The seconds even remained silent during two of their three matches, attracting whistles from their own supporters.
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Suffice to say that the selection which will resolve its difficulties in the opposing area has a strong chance of seeing the quarter-finals, where it will meet the winner of Portugal-Slovenia. But the French undoubtedly have a small advantage on a psychological level, having never lost in a major competition against their rival. There is no doubt that Kevin De Bruyne and his team are keen to break this curse.
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