France take on the visitors Belgium in the round 2 match of UEFA Nations League group stage. The match will be played on Monday, September 9th at Groupama Academy Stadium (Decines-Charpieu).
Under Didier Deschamps, "Les Bleus" have reached three finals. They lost in extra time at Euro 2016 on home soil to Portugal, but two years later they won the World Cup, perfectly marking the anniversary of Deschamps' triumph as a player and captain. Four years later, in Qatar, Mbappé and company again made it to the final, ultimately losing to Argentina on penalties, with Emiliano Martínez's penalty-saving heroics. As for Euro 2024, France’s performances were mixed, albeit with the caveat of Mbappé's injury in the first match. Yes, they reached the semifinals, but only managed five points in the group stage with two goals scored. They eliminated Belgium thanks to a Vertonghen own goal and beat Portugal in a penalty shootout after a 0-0 draw. In the new cycle, playing at home against Italy, France quickly opened the scoring through Barcola, but then, surprisingly, the visitors responded with three goals of their own.
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Belgium continues to give mixed impressions. Under Roberto Martínez, the "Red Devils" made history by securing a bronze medal at the World Cup. But beyond that, the "golden generation" failed to achieve much, and they didn’t even make it out of the group stage at the World Cup in Qatar. After that, Martínez was dismissed, and Belgium unexpectedly appointed the young German Domenico Tedesco, who had limited and somewhat unconventional experience. Tedesco navigated qualification last year without many issues, but at Euro 2024, De Bruyne and company won only one match, against Romania in the second round, following a shocking slip-up against Slovakia. A 0-0 draw with Ukraine was enough to advance to the playoffs. Their round of 16 clash with France seemed headed for a repeat of that scoreline until a fateful deflection off Vertonghen led to their elimination. Afterward, Vertonghen retired from international duty, and Tedesco did not call up Lukaku and several other key players. Courtois is also absent, having openly admitted a conflict with Tedesco. Without them, Belgium opened their campaign against Israel with a comfortable 3-1 victory.
The 1-0 result in the Euro 2024 round of 16 was France’s third consecutive victory over their neighbors. Mbappé and company are expected to win, especially now. However, they are not flawless, so a neutral option like "total over 2.5 goals" is worth considering.
Prediction for the match: Over 2.5 scored goals.
