France encountered Belgium in the 5th round of 16 fixture. The mouth-watering fixture was played at the Merkur Spiel Arena stadium.
France manager Didier Deschamps set up a strategic lineup against Domenico Tedesco’s side. This allowed him to bench Ousmane Dembele for a more midfield-focused lineup. He had put in place Adrien Rabiot, Antoine Griezman, Ngolo Kante, and Aurelien Tchouameni in the 4 midfielder system. He then used Kylian Mbappe and Marcus Thuram as his two forwards.
Belgium coach Tedesco on the other end had dropped Youri Tielemans. Allowing their talisman Kevin De Bruyne to drop deep in the midfield. Belgium had a midfield double pivot of De Bruyne and Amaodu Onana. Leading the line he used 4 forwards. Jeremy Doku, Yannick Carrasco, Romelu Lukaku, and Lois Openda, were his frontline.
France Defeats Belgium: First Half
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It was a game of immense tactical battle. However with Belgium set up, France was quick to dominate. This allowed Belgium to sit back and wait for a quick break for any of their four forwards.
France however struggle to break through the Belgian defense line.
Belgium was able to access a few quick breaks. But the athleticism of the likes of Kante and Tchouameni uneased them from making something good out of it.
Doku and Openda soon had a nice interplay. The result fell into Carrasco who replied with a fine strike towards goal. However, William Saliba was there to prevent the goal.
Tchouameni had responded to the Belgian’s strong defensive line with a series of powerful shots. However, the Madrid star couldn’t find the target.
Both sides failed to break the deadlock throughout the first half.
France Defeats Belgium: Second Half
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The second seemed to be more similar to the first half. Belgium struggled to find control of the game. On the other end, whilst France took control of the game, they could barely find a scoring opportunity. Thuram had an opportunity for a clear header but he sent it wide. After some minutes, it looked like both teams matched each other.
The two coaches made some crucial substitutions. Deschamps brought in Randall Kolo Muani for Thuram. Tedesco also brought in Orel Mangala for Openda. Deschamps introduced Kolo Muani to sharpen their frontline. Also, Tedesco had put in Mangala to bring more stability into the middle. The in-game changes began to take effect. Belgium soon seemed to find a bit of control in the game. Whilst France began to look more dangerous.
Belgium was soon gifted a chance. A fine through pass was delivered by De Bruyne who found Doku. The square playing from Doku found Lukaku, who took his time to fire a direct shot at Maignan. The AC Milan star does well to deliver a good save. Soon De Bruyne also had a fine shot denied by the
Kolo Muani had a chance while being freed in the box. The 25-year-old wasted no time in firing a one-time shot. The outcome found Vertoghen’s leg, deflecting the ball home. Kolo Muani gave France the lead. Belgium in return came out fully to find an equalizer. But the Le Bleus did sufficiently well to keep the Red Devils away.
Deschamps Evaluation of the game
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It’s beautiful, we played a big game, it was tight but we enjoyed possession and we had more opportunities. We have to savor it, it’s quite an achievement. We’re in the quarter-finals, they’re going home.
We made a lot of progress and our opponents were cautious, even if they’re an attacking team on paper. We did everything we could to create chances, and we created more than them, but we played the waiting game and didn’t fall into their trap. I liked that, but obviously you can’t win through possession alone.
I’d like us to create more chances but we’re into the quarter-finals and that’s what counts. Let’s not play down that moment.
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