- The France vs Belgium match will kick off on Monday at 7 PM.
- France are big favourites to win, coming out on top inside 90 minutes in 49.6% of simulations.
- Belgium will be appearing in the knockout stage of a third consecutive European Championship.
France and Belgium will face each other on Monday night in the standout Round of 16 tie in the ongoing Euro 2024 taking place in Germany as the two teams seek to join the already qualified hosts, England and Switzerland in the last 8.
Both sides set up the encounter after unconvincing displays in the group phase that saw both teams finishing in second place in their respective groups.
One win and two consecutive draws saw France finish behind Austria in Group D while one win, one draw and a loss saw Belgium just go through as runners-up to Romania in Group E courtesy of a superior goal difference.
France, who were touted among favourites for the trophy, scored just two goals en route to the last 16, their fewest in a major tournament group stage since the 2010 World Cup (1).
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Furthermore, those two goals came via a Max Wöber own goal for Austria and a Kylian Mbappé penalty, having 47 non-penalty attempts without finding the net.
Belgium also struggled in front of goal as they scored only two goals which came in the 2-0 win against Romania in their second pool match.
Here is everything you need to know ahead of the clash. Click this link to place your bet on the game and remember you can get up to 1000% SportPesa bonus on your multi bet of up to 50 games.
What time does France vs Belgium start?
The Round of 16 tie is scheduled to kick off at 1900EAT and the match will be played at the Merkur Spiel-Arena in Dusseldorf.
France vs Belgium Team News
Didier Deschamps has no major roster issues to deal with ahead of the round-of-16 match. The France boss should have his entire squad at his disposal on Monday.
His star forward Kylian Mbappe completed the full 90 minutes against Poland with no reactions after returning from a broken nose.
Belgium also have no fresh injury issues to contend with, meaning Axel Witsel (adductor) and Thomas Meunier (thigh) remain the only two injury absentees for Domenico Tedesco’s side.
Predicted lineups
France: Maignan (GK) — Kounde, Saliba, Upamecano, Hernandez — Kante, Tchouameni — Dembele, Griezmann, Rabiot — Mbappe.
Belgium: Casteels (GK) — Castagne, Faes, Vertonghen, Theate — Tielemans, Onana — Doku, De Bruyne, Carrasco — Lukaku.
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France vs Belgium head-to-head
This will be France and Belgium’s 76th encounter in men’s international football.
The Red Devils are France’s most frequent all-time opponent, having faced them nearly twice as often as any other team (39 meetings each with Italy and Switzerland). Meanwhile, Belgium have only faced the Netherlands (129 times) on more occasions than they have taken on France.
Les Bleus have won all four of their previous matches against Belgium at major international tournaments (World Cup and European Championship), scoring 13 goals and conceding just three.
Their only previous meeting at a European Championship was 40 years ago; France won 5-0 in the group stage of Euro 1984 courtesy of a Platini hat-trick and goals from Alain Giresse and Luis Fernandez en route to lifting the trophy for the first time.
France vs Belgium Current Form
France: WDWDD
Belgium: WWLWD
France vs Belgium Prediction
France are firm favourites to progress to the quarter-finals from this tie according to the Opta supercomputer’s pre-match simulations where Les Bleus were victorious 49.6% of the time inside 90 minutes.
Belgium came out on top without needing extra-time in 22.6% of the simulations.
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Deschamps’ men are still regarded one of the favourites for the trophy, going all the way in 13.0% of the tournament simulations, though that’s down from 19.1% before a ball was kicked, reflecting the difficult path ahead of them.
Belgium are very much considered outsiders. They claimed the title in just 2.6% of the projections.
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