DIRECT. Euro 2024. France-Belgium: the Blues remain cautious in this round of 16 against Belgium

Thuram se bat pour essayer d’inscrire le premier but. MAXPPP – FILIP SINGER

The French team plays its round of 16 of Euro 2024 against Belgium at the Merkur Spiel-Arena in Düsseldorf, this Monday, July 1.

A match to follow live with commentary here:

40e: on the left side, France arrives to find space but the ball passes in front of the Belgian goal without finding a taker. Koundé at the opposite center but was pushed back by the Belgian defense.

38e :the Blues push a little more at the end of the period. Tchouaméni tries from afar but his shot escapes the target.

35e: Belgium attacks, Tchouaméni recovers and tries to clear but is hit by Doku. Fault for the French midfielder.

32e: the biggest chance of the game is for the Blues. Tchouaméni opens on the right side for Koundé, his cross finds Thuram's head which passes a few centimeters from the top corner of Casteels.

30e: the Red Devils take a little more responsibilities in this meeting and keep the ball more than at the start of the match.

26e:Belgium wakes up, Openda with a body feint gets the best of Upamecano and his center has difficulty being cleared. It's finally Carrasco who tries his luck but it's countered by Hernandez's body.

25e: at this moment of the meeting with France has possession of the ball at 60%.

24e: Rabiot is late in his duel with Doku and receives a new yellow card for the Blues.

22nd: first attack build for Belgium. Doku launches into his dribbles and Griezmann returns the delayed tackle. Yellow card for Griezmann and free kick for De Bruyne. The free kick is not touched by anyone and Maignan reacts quickly to clear the ball.

19e:It is still France who hold the ball but who are content to pass the ball around. Rabiot takes the initiative 30m out but the shot flies away.

16th: second corner for the Blues, taken at the near post by Griezmann but Thuram's header goes wide.

14th: Carrasco gets past Hernandez and advances about thirty meters but the French full-back comes back and recovers the ball without foul.

13th: first corner for the Blues, played in two stages. Mbappé is found in the area, off-center on the left, his shot seems blocked and flies over the goal. Tchouaméni contests the decision and receives the first yellow card of the match.

11th:Griezmann finds the opening for Koundé in the Belgian area, the French full-back infiltrates but his center back finds no one.

10e: Saliba is in the duel with Lukaku, the central defender imposes his physique on the Belgian attacker and recovers the touch.

9e : the Blues retain possession of the ball, Griezmann infiltrates the center and attempts a strong pass which neither Mbappe nor Thuram can grasp.

6e: Thuram is dueling with Theate on the right side but the Belgian defender wins the impact with the shoulder.

5e : the Belgians abuse the long ball in the back of the defense but Saliba and Upamecano are vigilant.

4e:the two teams are observing each other at the start of the match. The risks taken are minimal. Maignan comes out 30m away to cut off a deep Belgian attack.

1e: the first game construction is French, Tchouaméni crosses for Rabiot whose recovery is missed.

0e: the French team gives the kick-off of this round of 16.

H – 5' : the Blues will play in white once again this evening. Belgium in red. The winner of this meeting will face the qualifier of the round of 16 between Portugal and Slovenia.

𝗣𝗿𝗲̂𝘁𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗮 𝗯𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲 👊#FRABEL | #FiersdetreBleus pic.twitter.com/ev1uy8fIq5

— Equipe de France ⭐⭐ (@equipedefrance) July 1, 2024

H – 10' : the Merkur Spiel-Arena in Düsseldorf has already hosted a meeting of the Blues during this Euro , it was during the first match of the Blues with a sluggish victory against Austria (1-0).

H – 15' : in the rivalry between these two neighbors, Belgium leads 30 victories to 26 against France (19 draws). However, in the last four meetings in international competitions, France has won each time. The only time during a Euro was in 1984 (5-0) during the Blues' first coronation. Should we see a sign there?

H – 30:Didier Deschamps has a new surprise in store for us for the composition of the Blues for this round of 16. He switches to a 4-4-2 diamond formation with Mbappé and Thuram at the forefront followed by Griezmann at the top of the diamond, Rabiot, Tchouaméni and Kanté making up the rest of the midfield. No change in defense and goals.

Notre 1️⃣1️⃣ de départ pour ce 1/8 de finale ⚔️#FRABEL | #FiersdetreBleus pic.twitter.com/LmdmK6dz6P

— Equipe de France ⭐⭐ (@equipedefrance) July 1, 2024

H – 45' : For its part, Belgium did not shine either during the group stage. Surprised by Slovakia for their entry into the tournament (0-1), the Belgians made up for it with a clear victory against Romania (2-0) before securing a final day with a result draw against Ukraine (0-0). Second in their group just like France, the "red devils" come forward with more questions about their game.

H – 60' : a new competition begins for the French team. After a rather bland group stage with a snatched victory against Austria (1-0) then two draws against the Netherlands (0-0) then Poland (1-1), the Blues, who did not & rsquo;have not yet scored in the game (an own goal and a penalty), will have to find more inspiration in the construction of the game to get rid of Belgium.