France and Belgium have been considered football’s crème de la crème for many years, with the former winning the World Cup and Euros, unlike the latter.Still, the Red Devils had a spectacularly quality-packed generation for years, comprised of Courtois, Hazard, De Bruyne, Fellaini, Witsel, Lukaku, and several more sensational players.Interestingly, though, they lost to the same rival 1-0 in the recent EURO 2024 clash and the 2018 WC battle.##NAJAVA_MECA_8406120####EDITORS_CHOICE##What makes this match-up even more interesting – and the 11th edition is scheduled for tonight in Brussels as part of the UEFA Nations League – is the fact that Belgium has never defeated France in a non-friendly game! Yes, we’re not fooling you. They’ve met ten times so far, and except for the 2015 friendly, which ended in Belgium’s 4-3 win, all others saw France defeat their rival, with the other two friendlies ending in a goalless draw.The last time the two sides faced off was a month ago, as Didier Deschamps’ lot celebrated a deserved 2-0 home victory thanks to Randal Kolo Muani and Ousmane Dembele.Mbappe-less France dismantles Belgium againNow, it’s time for a reverse fixture, which could be Belgium’s last chance to get into the top two of the group and progress to the knockout stage of the Nations League.They bounced back from a two-goal deficit at Rome against Italy a few days ago on the wings of their impeccable set-piece routines. Now they have an even more formidable challenge as Les Bleues are packed with fantastic players of impressive individual quality like, for instance, their Real Madrid-bond midfield duo Eduardo Camavinga and Aurelien Tchouameni. On the other hand, they won’t have Kylian Mbappe in the attacking line, which should make the Red Devils’ defenders’ lives a bit easier.UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE AThursdayIsrael – France 1-4 (1-2)/Gandelman 24 – Camavinga 6, Nkunku 28, Guendouzi 87, Barcola 89/Italy – Belgium 2-2 (2-1)/Cambiaso 1, Retegui 24 – De Cuyper 42, Trossard 61/FridayHungary – Netherlands 1-1 (1-0)/Salai 32 – Dumfries 83/B&H – Germany 1-2 (0-2)/Dzeko 70 – Undav 30,36/SaturdayCroatia – Scotland 2-1 (1-1)/Matanovic 36, Kramaric 70 – Christie 32/Poland – Portugal 1-2 (0-2)/Zielinski 78 – Bernardo Silva 26, Ronaldo 37/Serbia – Switzerland 2-0 (1-0)/Elvedi 45+1 og, Mitrovic 61/Spain – Denmark 1-0 (0-0)/Zubimendi 79/Monday21:45: (1.65) Germany (3.80) Netherlands (5.40)21:45: (3.00) Belgium (3.40) France (2.35)Tuesday21:45: (5.20) Scotland (3.80) Portugal (1.75)21:45: (1.30) Spain (5.80) Serbia (12.0)UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE BThursdayEngland – Greece 1-2 (0-0)/Bellingham 87 – Pavlidis 49, 90+4/Finland – R. Ireland 1-2 (1-0)/Pohjanpalo 17 – Scales 57, Brady 88/Austria – Kazakhstan 4-0 (1-0)/Baumgartner 10, Lienhart 53, Sabitzer 56, Seidi 79/Norway – Slovenia 3-0 (1-0)/Haaland 7, 62, Sorloth 52/FridayIceland – Wales 2-2 (0-2)/Tomasson 69, Ward 72 og – Johnson 11, Wilson 29/Ukraine – Georgia 1-0 (1-0)/Mudryk 35/Turkey – Montenegro 1-0 (0-0)/Kahveci 69/Czech Republic – Albania 2-0 (1-0)/Chory 3, 63/SundayKazakhstan – Slovenia 0-1 (0-0)/Mlakar 55/Finland – England 1-3 (0-1)/Hoskonen 87 – Grealish 18, Alexander-Arnold 74, Rice 84/Greece – R. Ireland 2-0 (0-0)/Bakasetas 48, Mantalos 90+1/Austria – Norway 5-1 (1-1)/Arnautovic 8, 49 pen, Lienhart 58, Posch 62, Gregoritsch 71 – Sorloth 39/Monday21:45: (2.25) Ukraine (3.40) Czech R. (3.20)***odds are subject to change***
