On Monday evening, two of the European Championship’s highest-profile teams will meet in Dusseldorf as they aim to reach the quarter-finals.
Following underwhelming group-stage campaigns for both sides, one of France and Belgium will not make it past the round of 16 at Euro 2024.
In this preview, Forebet examines the key stats and trends behind Monday’s showdown. Continue reading to find out what our predictive analytics model forecasts.
France were many people’s favourites to lift the trophy before a ball was kicked in Germany, but their performances during the group stage were below substandard.
After scraping past Austria with a 1-0 win in their opening game, Les Bleus drew 1-1 with the Netherlands and Poland to finish second in Group D.
Didier Deschamps’ side have failed to score from open play so far, benefitting from an Austria own goal before Kylian Mbappe’s penalty last time out.
That said, France have reached three of the previous five Euro 2024 and World Cup finals, so you’d be foolish to write them off.
Belgium also experienced a frustrating group-stage campaign, taking four points from a possible nine to scrape through to the knockout phase.
Following a shock 1-0 defeat to Slovakia, the Red Devils claimed a 2-0 victory over Romania before playing out a goalless draw with Ukraine.
Although the Belgians have flattered to deceive in attack – scoring twice – they have kept two clean sheets, underlining their defensive strength.
However, Belgium have consistently fallen short at major tournaments in recent times, so they will need to be at their very best to overcome the French.
Head-to-head: France have lost just one of their last six meetings with Belgium, with the most recent encounter ending in a 3-1 victory for Les Bleus back in 2021.
It is also worth noting that four of the previous six meetings have produced under 2.5 goals, suggesting that Monday’s clash could be a low-scoring affair.
Team news: Star Frenchman Kylian Mbappe is back in action after fracturing his nose, with key playmaker Antoine Griezmann also expected to return to the starting XI.
As for Belgium, Manchester City duo Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku are expected to start behind Romelu Lukaku, who has scored 85 goals in 117 games for his country.
If recent meetings between these two sides are anything to go by, we will likely see a tight encounter as both teams bid to reach the quarter-finals.
Forebet’s AI algorithm predicts that France and Belgium will play out a goalless draw in normal time, meaning extra time and/or penalties will be required.
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