Euro 2024: the first match of the Blues, Ukraine is not going to play just a simple match, Belgium wants to redeem itself… the program for this Monday, June 17

The French team of Mbappé, Ukraine and Belgium of Courtois will be on deck this Monday. maxppp

The French team launches its Euro, Ukraine wants to shine in a match that goes well beyond sport, Belgium wants to redeem itself after a missed World Cup in 2022… Here is the program this Monday June 17 at Euro 2024 in Germany.

France takes the stage against Austria

A good statistic for confidence: the Blues have systematically won their first major tournament match in the twelve years that Didier Deschamps has been coach.

Finalists in three of the last four major competitions (2018 and 2022 World Cups, Euro 2016), they are favorites, equal to Germany at home or of England. But their armor has been scratched by their latest friendly results, two defeats against Germany in September 2023 (2-1) and last March (2-0) or a sluggish draw against Canada (0-0) , June 9.

"It's a booster shot. There, we are ready", assures Benjamin Pavard. "The status of favorite, it goes in one ear and it comes out the other", sweeps Ousmane Dembélé. "The truth is on the ground. You can come across an Austrian team that makes life difficult for you and you lose the match".

Much more than a football match for Ukraine

For their coach, it will be "obviously a match loaded with emotions". The entry of the Ukrainians into Euro 2024 on Monday (3 p.m.) in Munich against Romania will go well beyond a simple football match for a country at war since 2022 .

"It's hard to be here when you hear the news from home. It's war in our country! And when we wake up in the morning, we wonder how things went for our family or for our friends", explained Sunday at a conference of presses Bournemouth center back in England, Illia Zabarnyi.

"The soldiers who defend the country are incredible. Day after day, there are alerts, many people die daily", he added, aware of a necessarily very particular context for this first match at Euro.

Repurchase operation for Belgium

Eighteen months after a World Cup in Qatar to forget, Belgium, weakened in defense and without Thibaut Courtois, sets off again to attack a first major title by facing the Slovakia, Monday (6 p.m.), for its entry into Group E of Euro 2024.

Poor performances, stars in poor form, palpable disagreement in the locker room, coach at the end of his reign and short of ideas, the pitfalls had accumulated on the path of the Belgians to winter 2022. The last lap of a part of the famous golden generation – but never titled -, like Eden Hazard, retired in the process of this fiasco, had ended up suddenly leaving the road and leaving traces.

"I think everyone is hungry, but we need to make the atmosphere as positive as possible, because it's not enough. It's not easy to spend many days and weeks together", for example, declared the new coach, Dominic Tedesco, on the UEFA website.