On Monday, we will be looking to keep our streak of winning bets going with the best Belgium v France prediction you can find online. This is arguably the toughest group – Group 2 of League A where these two nations are paired with Italy and Israel. As things currently stand, Italy is leading the way with 7 points from three matches, while France is second with six points, Belgium is third with 4 points, while Israel have lost all three fixtures. Only the winner of the group will qualify directly for the Semi Finals of UEFA’s Nations League. As you probably know, winning the Nations League secures an automatic qualification for Euro 2028 that will be co-hosted by England, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Head-to-head battles
These two neighboring countries have become pretty accustomed to playing each other in recent years. France eliminated Belgium at the Euros in Germany at the quarter-finals edging the game by 1:0, although the Red Devils had some decent chances to level the score.
The last fixture between the two was last September 9th, and again, France won the game, this time by 2:0.
In fact, Les Blues have won the last four matches against Belgium eliminating them from Euro 2024, the Nations League in 2021, and the World Cup in 2018.
Bottom line is that Belgium have a lot to make up for, but do they have firepower in them to pull it off?
Belgium’s Lost Generation
The country had one of the best talents over the last decades, but oddly enough, they could not win a single trophy. One would think that at least one piece of silverware was due for a side with players like Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne, Lukaku, Mertens, Courtois, Vincent Kompany, Jan Vertonghen, Axel Witsel, and many more. Unfortunately for their fans, their efforts never materialized and all they won were the their first-ever bronze medals in World Cup history with a 2-0 win over England in 2018.
A Not So Smooth Transition
Nowadays, Belgium’s team is not as exciting in terms of big names. Kevin De Bruyne is constantly complaining from the condensed football schedule and the amount of games players have to play these days. He wanted to be left out from the squad for the Nations League, but he should feature in the qualifiers for the World Cup.
Looking at their current squad, the Red Devils have a decent lineup, but it’s certainly not as formidable as it was in years past. Some of the players that stand out are Arsenal’s attacking midfielder Leandro Trossard, Man City’s pacey winger Jérémy Doku, RBL’s forward Openda, and the midfielder Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa.
Expected Lineups, Some Big Names Missing
Of course, our top betting pick for today would not be complete unless we analyze the expected lineups. Romelu Lukaku remained in Naples to work on his conditioning. As mentioned, de Bruyne also wanted out of these Nations League matches to take some rest from the condensed schedule. Real Madrid’s goalkeeper Curtois is having a bit if a rift with head coach Tedesco, but he is out injured anyway.
As per France, Kilyian Mbappe is out, while Antoine Griezmann announced his retirement from international football last month.
Belgium expected starting 11:
Casteels; Castagne, Debast, Faes, Theate, De Cuyper; Tielemans, Mangala; Trossard, Openda, Doku
France expected starting 11:
Maignan; Kounde, Konate, Saliba, T Hernandez; Tchouameni, Camavinga, Guendouzi; Olise, Kolo Muani, Barcol
Belgium v France Prediction
Belgium showed promise in their last game against Italy. They drew the game after going down 2:0, and they could have actually won it at the end. Now, they are playing at home against France, and they will be up for the challenge, so I can see them scoring. France will certainly get on the scoresheet too.
