Kylian Mbappe (right) could face a new and improved version of Belgium on Monday (Image: Getty)
Belgium manager Domenico Tedesco believes his side’s true colours will finally shine through against Kylian Mbappe's France on Monday. The Red Devils arrived at Euro 2024 in scintillating form before suffering the first defeat of Tedesco’s reign, against Slovakia, in their opening game.
A win over Romania and a goalless draw with Ukraine eventually saw Belgium through to the last 16. But the fact they finished second in what, on paper, should have been an easy group has given fans cause for concern.
Upcoming opponents France have also underperformed since landing in Germany, and Tedesco wants to capitalise.
"We will go there to win,” said the 38-year-old. “We are here and we qualified for this Euros to play against the best teams. Now, we face a top team. That’s why we qualified, otherwise we could stay at home.
“These are the games we’re looking for, and everything is possible. Why shouldn't we make it against France? We can unleash our true potential. These are the games we always want and the ones we are looking for. This is the magic of the Euros."
Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku will be hoping for better fortune against Les Bleus after seeing three of his goals disallowed during the group stages. Thankfully for him, team-mates Kevin De Bruyne and Youri Tielemans were on hand to pick up the slack in the 2-0 win over Romania which effectively sent them through.
Kevin De Bruyne scored the second goal in Belgium's 2-0 win over Romania (Image: Getty)
Tedesco’s men drew a blank in their other two group matches and they may find it tough breaching a France back-line which is packed with talented stars. Manchester City star De Bruyne has admitted that most will expect Belgium’s Euros run to end against Mbappe and co.
“We need to recover and give it 100 per cent against France,” he said. “We will probably be the underdogs against them, but we had zero points after the first match and still managed to go through. If you want to win the European Championship, you need to win against everyone.”
With France ranked second in the world by FIFA and Belgium third, Dusseldorf is set to host the pick of the last-16 clashes on Monday. And there is more than just a quarter-final spot at stake.
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Fearful of Les Bleus fans exercising their bragging rights; Youro Casier, the mayor of Belgian border town Wervik, has opted to barricade a bridge crossing between the two nations.
“The French are much more chauvinistic than we are," he told Flemish broadcaster VRT. "We know from experience that after a French victory they like to provoke ‘les petits Belges’ again and tease them with their cars. They come driving around here, start honking and get out to dance in the streets. We want to avoid triggering people to do stupid things. The French can still cross the bridge on foot or by bike, but above all, they cannot honk.”
