4-3-3 rather than 4-4-2, “seum”, the threat of De Bruyne… Five questions before the Blues’ round of 16

The day of truth. After a bumpy first round, the Pale Blues will aim to regain their shine against Belgium, not much brighter so far, in the round of 16 of Euro 2024. The two teams will face each other this Monday from 6 p.m., in Düsseldorf, where France beat Austria (1-0) at the start of the tournament. A match broadcast by TF1 et beIN SPORTS and which you will be able to follow, as usual, live with commentary on our site.

What 11 for Didier Deschamps and the Blues?

Didier Deschamps has confused the situation. While we could imagine a 4-4-2 diamond, the France team should evolve into 4-3-3 with Antoine Griezmann rather on the right, in place of Ousmane Dembélé, relegated to the bench. Kylian Mbappé left to find the left side, his preferred positioning, and Marcus Thuram, the axis. A triplet of defensive midfielders made up of N’Golo Kanté, Aurélien Tchouaméni and Adrien Rabiot. Behind there are no surprises with the Koundé/Upamecano/Saliba/Hernandez quartet and Mike Maignan as guardian of the temple. Solid for the Blues this Monday.

What path for the two teams?

The French team finished in second place in Group D, behind Austria but ahead of the Netherlands and Poland. A victory against the Austrians (1-0) and two draws, against the Netherlands (0-0) and Poland (1-1). The Belgian team lost to Slovakia (0-1) at the start, before going all out against Romania (2-0) and sharing the points against Ukraine (0-0). A final match at the end of which the Red Devils were booed by their own fans. Atmosphere… They finished second in the Group E standings. Two great nations that are feeling down but have high ambitions and who still have everything to prove in this Euro…

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Who in the quarter-finals for the winner?

The winner of this France-Belgium will face that of Portugal-Slovenia on Friday July 5, in Hamburg. In this part of the table, the semi-final will take place on Tuesday 9 in Munich. The winner of Spain-Georgia will face Germany in the other quarter-final. And of course, the final is scheduled for Sunday July 14, in Berlin. Remember that we find England and the Netherlands in particular in the other part of the table. Not Italy, eliminated in the round of 16 by Switzerland (0-2) on Saturday.

What are the main Belgian threats?

First things first, captain Kevin De Bruyne will be one to watch closely. He is the playmaker of this team, the technical leader. The Manchester City player obviously does not have the same equipment in the national team as he does in the club, but he is capable of unbalancing a block with a single kick. World class. Speaking of unbalancing, former Rennes player Jeremy Doku is also there, in a different style. The young City winger will give Jules Koundé a real-life test. Not very successful since the start of the competition, Romelu Lukaku remains one of the very good strikers on the European circuit. For the rest, let us point out that the Belgian selection includes several players who are well-known in France, some play there (Théate, Mangala), others have played there (Tielemans, Carrasco, Meunier, Openda, Faes, Sels). Also watch out for the lively Arsenal player Leandro Trossard.

What precedents exist between the two teams?

There are many of them. And for good reason, Belgium is the opponent that France has faced the most in its history, 75 confrontations. 26 wins, 19 draws and 30 defeats. A record in favor of the Red Devils, therefore. Except that the Blues have only lost two of their last 13 matches, the last Belgian success dating back to June 2015 (4-3 victory in Saint-Denis). Since then, there was this 1-0 French victory in the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup, a match that gave rise to a monumental “seum” on the other side of the Ardennes to use Thibaut Courtois’ expression. The same goes for the stunning success of the French team in the semi-finals of the League of Nations in 2021. Belgium led 2-0 at half-time before goals from Karim Benzema, Kylian Mbappé and finally Théo Hernandez in injury time (3-2). Only one Franco-Belgian duel at the Euro so far, a 5-0 victory by Les Bleus in 1984, with a hat-trick from Michel Platini. The first Belgium-France? A 3-3 draw in May 1904, in Uccle.