"Les Bleus" win 1:0

France vs. Belgium LIVE from 6 p.m.

The jubilation of France's round of 16 winners ...

(Bild: Associated Press)

Nothing again - even in the 6th final round duel with France, the eternal secret favorites Belgium failed to win! After defeats at the 1938, 1986 and 2018 World Cup tournaments, in the 2021 Nations League and at the 1984 European Championship, the "Red Devils" were again beaten today in Düsseldorf ...

0:1 against Slovakia, 2:0 against Romania and a shaky 0:0 against Ukraine - the team of Domenico Tedesco, the German-Italian team manager of the Belgians, had not shown "devilishly" good form in the course of the European Championship so far. The "eternal secret favorites" to win a major title seemed to have completely lost their form in time for the European Championship finals.

(Bild: AFP)

(Bild: AFP)

France with little offensive impact so far
Tedesco had not suffered a defeat in 14 games since his enthronement, and his men around Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Co. had shown some strong performances. Nevertheless, runners-up France did not travel to the round of 16 clash in Düsseldorf without any worries. Although they had won against Austria in the group stage - of all teams - they disappointingly only shared the points with the Netherlands and Poland and showed little penetration, particularly in attack.

No surprises in terms of personnel or tactics
Neither Les Bleus coach Didier Deschamps nor his counterpart Tedesco were able to come up with any major surprises in terms of line-up or tactical formation at the start of the match. After all, instead of the diamond 4-4-2 expected from the French side following the rotation of Antoine Griezmann and Marcus Thuram for Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembelé, France opted for a 4-3-3 with Thuram in the center of the attack, Kylian Mbappé on the left and Griezmann on the right. The Red Devils, who played in a 4-4-2, also introduced two new players to the starting eleven in Loïs Openda and Yannick Carrasco - replacing Youri Tielemans and Leandro Trossard.

(Bild: Associated Press)

Admittedly, these changes were noticeable on the green turf of the Düsseldorf stadium, but they did not have a major impact compared to the group stage matches. As usual, the French sought their luck going forward from the start through possession, while Belgium relied on a strong defense based on quick transition situations via De Bruyne, Carrasco and Openda.

France goalie Maignan with unorthodox foot defense
However, neither side was dangerous at first and it was not until the 10th minute that the first half-chance found its way into the match statistics, but Belgium goalkeeper Koen Casteels had no problems with Griezmann's long-range shot. 14 minutes later, Belgium's fans collectively cheered the goal when De Bruyne's free-kick from the left half of the pitch initially went past friend and foe, but was cleared somewhat unorthodoxly by goalkeeper Mike Maignan with a foot save.

Discipline and caution decisive on both sides
From this point onwards at the latest, the "Red Devils" were also better in the game, no longer standing as deep as before, no longer just defending and counter-attacking, but also playing more actively in the field. Tactical discipline and caution remained key on both sides, with France and Belgium neutralizing each other for long stretches. Thuram (34th - header just off target) and Aurélien Tchouaméni (40th - long-range shot off target, 45th - over) then knocked on Belgium's door for the runners-up, but in the end they deservedly went into half-time with the score at 0-0.

(Bild: AFP)

Tchouaméni annoys Belgians with long-range shots
Real Madrid's Tchouaméni, the man who created the last goal-scoring chances before the break, was able to draw attention to himself again straight after the restart. The long-distance runner from Les Bleus' midfield took a shot from 25 meters after work from Mbappé and N'Golo Kanté, but Casteels was able to deflect the deflected ball out for a corner (48'). The first quarter of an hour of the second half clearly belonged to the French side and Thuram (51st/headed shot over) and Mbappé (54th, 57th) could easily have made it 1:0 for the two-time European champions - almost had to.

Carrasco's attempted shot blocked by Hernández
The offensive pinpricks of the "Red Devils" around De Bruyne and Lukaku - yes, he was on the pitch too! - were now becoming increasingly rare, with only one action worth mentioning for Belgium until the very end, when Carrasco's attempted shot after a De Bruyne through-ball was just blocked by left-back Théo Hernández (61').

The 1:0 for France was now always in the air, even though the French side's chances still rarely deserved the title of "high-caliber". Griezmann (65'), Tchouaméni (67'), William Saliba (74') and Mbappé (78') all failed to score for the time being.

Kolo Muani shot deflected unstoppably by Vertonghen
But because De Bruyne failed to beat France goalkeeper Maignan shortly afterwards with - it can be anticipated at this point - the last good chance for Belgium from 17 meters, it was left to ex-Frankfurt substitute Randal Kolo-Muani to prevent the threat of extra time in the 5th round of 16 of the tournament.

After a pass from Kanté, Kolo-Muani created just enough space in the penalty area to fire a shot at the Belgian goal - and luckily for him, the ball was deflected by defender Jan Vertonghen into the path of goalkeeper Casteels (84').

The decision? Yes, it was! Even though the "Red Devils" now had their backs to the wall and were pushing forward, they were unable to create anything dangerous or score. Once again, the eternal secret favorites Belgium were eliminated all too early ...

The result:
France - Belgium 1:0 (0:0)
Düsseldorf, refereed by Glenn Nyberg (SWE)

Goal: 1:0 (85') Vertonghen (own goal)

Yellow cards: Tchouameni, Griezmann, Rabiot or Vertonghen, Mangala

France: Maignan - Koundé, Upamecano, Saliba, T. Hernandez - Kanté, Tchouameni, Rabiot - Griezmann, Thuram (62. Kolo Muani), Mbappé
Belgium: Casteels - Castagne (88. De Ketelaere), Faes, Vertonghen, Theate - De Bruyne, Onana, Carrasco (88. Lukebakio) - Openda (64. Mangala), Lukaku, Doku