Quote from Segun Ite on October 6, 2021, 12:46 AM

On Thursday night, at the Juventus Stadium, Turin, Italy, Belgium and France will have the opportunity to play in the second semi-final fixture as both teams seek to book a spot in the UEFA Nations League 2021 final.
France have been invincible in the competition so far, maintaining an unbeaten record of five wins (which includes a 1-0 win against defending champions, Portugal) and a draw( against Portugal, of course), and will also look to take it all the way to the finals when they square-up with Belgium tomorrow night. Belgium, too have been great (though, not like their opponents) with five wins and a loss(they lost 2-1 to England) in Group B and are every bit of capable of getting past their French counterparts in Thursday’s clash.
The Belgian side, a very promising one for that matter, have been faced with all kinds of disappointment in various competitions. Getting knocked out by Italy in the quarter-finals of last summer’s Euro, losing 1-0 to France in the 2018 World Cup semi-final at Russia, Roberto Martinez’s side’s quest for silverware has been hampered by various obstacles. This are a Belgian side that have what it takes to beat anyone in Europe, and even in the world but have just managed to fall short of the expectations they’ve had for themselves in the past few years. And with the clock ticking on their Golden Generation, Martinez’s men will have to do something really fast if they are to re-write Belgian history.
Les Blues also, suffered a bit of a shock defeat to Switzerland in the Euro 2021 round of 16, and with that defeat still fresh in their memories, Didier Deschamps and co will be looking to bounce back when they take on Belgium. France should also bear in mind that Belgium are on a 3-match post-Euro winning streak(though have not faced big teams yet), while they have failed to completely recover from their Euro 2021 failures, drawing two and winning one.
France squad:
Goalkeepers:
Hugo Lloris(Tottenham), Benoit Costil(Bordeaux), Mike Maignan(AC Milan)
Defenders:
Benjamin Pavard(Bayern Munich), Presnel Kimpembe(PSG), Raphael Varane(Manchester United), Jules Kounde(Sevilla), Leo Dubois(Lyon), Dayot Upamecano(Bayern Munich), Lucas Digne(Everton), Lucas Hernandez(Bayern Munich), Theo Hernandez(AC Milan)
Midfielders:
Paul Pogba(Manchester United), Aurelien Touchameni(Monaco), Jordan Veretout(Roma), Matteo Guendouzi(Marseille), Adrien Rabiot(Juventus)
Forwards:
Antoine Griezmann(Atletico Madrid), Anthony Martial(Manchester United), Kylian Mbappe(PSG), Moussa Diaby(Bayer Leverkusen), Karim Benzema(Real Madrid), Wissam Ben Yedder(Monaco)
Head Coach: Didier Deschamps
Belgium
Goalkeepers:
Thibaut Courtois(Real Madrid), Simon Mignolet(Club Brugge), Koen Casteels(VFL Wolfsburg)
Defenders:
Toby Alderweireld, Jason Denayer(Lyon), Dedryck Boyata(Hertha BSC), Jan Vertonghen(Benfica), Thomas Meunier(Dortmund), Timothy Castagne(Leicester City)
Midfielders:
Axel Witsel(Dortmund), Kevin De Bruyne(Manchester City), Youri Tielemans(Manchester City), Yannick Carrasco(Atletico Madrid), Thorgan Hazard(Dortmund), Hans Vanaken(Club Brugge), Leander Dendoncker(Wolves), Alexis Saelemaekers(AC Milan)
Forwards:
Romelu Lukaku(Chelsea), Eden Hazard(Real Madrid), Dodi Lukebakio(VFL Wolfsburg), Charles De Ketelaere(Club Brugge), Leandro Trossard(Brighton and Hove Albion), Michy Batshuayi(Besiktas)
Head Coach: Roberto Martinez
Head to head:
Till date, France and Belgium have played each other 74 times, with 25 wins for France, 30 wins for Belgium and 19 draws, so statistically speaking, Belgium have a bit of an advantage