France v Belgium is arguably the highlight fixture of Euro 2024, with the two Pot 1 teams meeting at the last sixteen stage of the competition. After beating Austria in their opening clash, the French could only muster draws against Netherlands and Poland, with Les Bleus now having to navigate a tough route if they are to reach the final.
France are warm favourites to land a victory although they will be feeling the pressure as favourites to win, with the Belgians carrying an attacking threat on the counter thanks to Manchester City duo Jeremy Doku and Kevin de Bruyne. The big issue for Dominic Tedesco’s side is in defence although they did concede just one goal during the group stage.
On the one hand, both teams’ three matches in the group stage only averaged one goal, although perhaps we’ll see a more open game considering that we have now reached the knockout stage. Even so, the bookies think that BTTS No is more likely than both teams finding the net and it should be remembered that just one goal was scored in the 2018 World Cup semi-final.
On that occasion, France claimed a 1-0 victory over Belgium, with N’Golo Kante and Antoine Griezmann key figures against opponents who were booed off the pitch after a goalless draw against Ukraine. A France win to nil could potentially be on the cards, with Mbappe capable of tormenting a creaking defence.