Belgium's Red Devils and France will go head-to-head in the Merkur Spiel-Arena in Düsseldorf in the eighth-finals (round of 16) at the European Championship at 18:00 on Monday evening.
The previous two clashes between the countries are still fresh in the memory of many fans – both won by Les Bleus. At the 2018 World Cup, a header goal by Samuel Umtiti resulted in a French final in a very close match.
Three years ago in the Nations League Final Four, the French still managed to turn a 2-0 deficit into a 2-3 win after half-time. A goal by Romelu Lukaku was then disallowed for offside at the very last minute.
'We need a top day'
The biggest difference between now and then is that France are the clear favourites this time, despite a mediocre and difficult group stage in which they did not score a single field goal. They mostly lacked efficiency, which caused them to leave the group win to Austria.
A similar scenario played out for an unstable Belgium, which immediately had to play with a knife at the throat after its defeat against Slovakia on the opening day. The Red Devils made up for it against Romania, but their last game in the group stage against Ukraine still left a particularly bitter aftertaste despite qualification.
The Red Devils realise that they have to do better, according to the players. "We need a top day," manager Domenico Tedesco concurred, adding that all the pieces of the puzzle will have to fall together.
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The support of the fans – after the booing concert in Stuttgart – will be more than welcome. Team Captain Kevin De Bruyne said that "things will have to be different and better" against France, but believes they still have a chance.
"After all, it is football. In football, anything is possible," he said on Saturday. "In the second round, you can play the worst game of the tournament and still go through. Additionally, there will be slightly less pressure than in the previous three games."
De Bruyne recognised that Belgium will have to be on top form to beat France. "They are the favourites. But we really have a chance to win against France, and we have to show that. Otherwise we could have just packed our bags and gone home."
