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Arguably the pick of the Round of 16 matches at Euro 2024 pits together two near-neighbours as France and Belgium do battle at Merkur Spiel-Arena in Dusseldorf on Monday for a spot in the final eight. During their international history, Les Bleus have faced this opposition at least 36 more times than against any other side, with this fixture acting as the 76th encounter between the two nations, of which France have dominated of late.
Didier Deschamps’ side have lost just one of the last six H2Hs (W3, D2) and further encouragement could be found from the fact that the pair’s one prior UEFA European Championship meeting saw France run out 5-0 winners in 1984 en route to their first competition title. Improvement is needed upon their group stage performances though, because while the two-time European champions recorded two clean sheets, they also failed to score from open play (own goals aside) despite boasting world class attacking quality.
Belgium also struggled to find their shooting boots during the group stage which saw them finish in second spot in Group E. A shock 1-0 defeat to Slovakia on matchday one could have proved fatal for Domenico Tedesco’s side if it wasn’t for their quick response which saw them beat Romania 2-0. Their final outing saw them disappoint again though, staggering to a 0-0 draw with Ukraine, as Group E became the first in Euros history to witness each side finish on four points!
The Belgians' overall form could point towards their potential success in this clash instead, as they’ve now lost just one of their last 18 internationals (W11, D6). With 12 of those outings witnessing the Red Devils keep a clean sheet, defensive stability could be key to their progression again but after conceding seven goals across their last three H2Hs, that could prove a tall order this time around.
Players to watch: Antoine Griezmann could be France’s dangerman here as he’s struck seven goals in 14 Euro matches, five of which have come in the knockout rounds. Despite recording more shots on target (7) than any other player in the group stage, Romelu Lukaku failed to score, though his prior tally of 11 goals in 25 major tournament appearances suggests that his fortunes could swiftly change here.
Hot stat: Only the Netherlands and Slovakia (both two) received fewer yellow cards than France (3) during the Euro 2024 group stage. #FRANCE #BELGIUM
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