Is the French team still as intimidating as it was five months ago? Favourites for the final victory before the start of the Euro, Les Bleus have recorded the biggest drop in predictions Opta in recent days (France went from a 19.1% chance of being crowned, to 13.4%, according to the figures from the prediction tool). The fault lies in a first half of the tournament that was too inconsistent, during which the French team was unable 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 Deschamps. Inevitably, the news surrounding the state of mind in the locker room – where frustration and fracture with the coach seem to be growing – reinforces the idea of a team that is possibly at the end of its cycle. In Belgium, however, we remain measured about everything that can be said, read, or heard about the French team.
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 terms of content, a bit like the student who is always at the back of the class, who doesn’t do his homework, but who always gets 8/10 in his exams.he metaphorically. But of course she remains feared, even if she is led 2-0, we saw it against Argentina. Here, in Belgium, everyone is aware of her abilities to raise her 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.”
Reasons for hope to believe in the feat
Nevertheless, all the Belgian specialists asked allow themselves the right to hope. Firstly, because the French team has, nevertheless, shown certain limits in the group phase, but also because Belgium has never been as strong as when it put on the outsider costume: “Yes, there is something to be done. When she is in this little duck posture, she can quickly become the big bad gooseTavolieri smiles. We also saw in the group stage that there could be opportunities against this French team, it will be an open match, but Belgium will not lose 5-0.» Patrick Gaparata, founder of the Belgium Touch account on X, has the same idea: “Tedesco’s Belgium has shown that it knows how to raise its level of play according to adversity, and we saw it against Germany and England. Today, in view of the group phase of the French team, I think it is the best moment to come across them. Would it be an exploit? Historically, yes, but at the start of this Euro, no.”he decides. Loïc Woos, follower of the Devils, also remains aware of the weaknesses of the Blues, which will have to be supported: “France’s power is recognised in Belgium, but we have also seen that it is not unplayable. Koundé is not a full-back by training and there is something to be done with Doku, Upamecano is a great defender but can sometimes be caught out by his lapses in concentration, we can also take them in behind in transition…”he decrypts.
Another factor to take into account, and not the least, is the poor form of the technical leaders of the French team, namely Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappé. “I prefer to pull France than Spain in terms of confidence. Mbappé is coming off a statistically exceptional season, but after a trying year, we don’t have the impression that he is able to press the switch as he was able to do in the past. Griezmann, himself, is no longer capable of being this all-terrain midfielder like in 2022. When he is in form, France makes three finals, when he is less, France is eliminated in the last 16 of the Euro in 2021.”recalls Patrick Gaparata. For Sacha, we should rather be wary of a wounded beast. 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
Much 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 that time are still there today (Kanté, Mbappé, Griezmann). However, when reading the Belgian dailies, this idea often comes up “revenge”. “Playing against France is like playing against your cousin who always makes fun of you. When you finally beat him up, it’s great, but it happens every 15 years. What the Belgian media are making is, in a way, their fantasy. Everyone is aware of the quality of the French team here, but they are also envied.”says Sacha Tavolieri.
“The spirit of revenge is there, but I don’t particularly have the impression that it is against France.nuances 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 has turned, 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.
