Belgium’s Nations League Breakdown: Post-France Musings | OneFootball

Monday night’s UEFA Nations League Group 2 action saw Belgium fall to France 2-1 in Brussels in a widely even, action-packed affair. Read through the action with GBeNeFN, as we recount some notable facets of the clash at the Stade Roi Baudouin.

The first half was nearly a tale of two penalties, as the hosts saw Lois Openda break through the high French line before being wiped out by a slipping William Saliba. The Arsenal man thought he’d found reprieve with the linesman’s raised flag, yet VAR intervention showed that the RB Leipzig forward was just onside and a penalty and yellow card to Saliba was the award. Youri Tielemans stepped up for the penalty just after the 20th minute, yet could only look on as his effort from 12 yards flew skyward.

For the eventual opener, VAR was involved again. Following an instinctive touch-down and run on the left flank, Bradley Barcola had already fired on target in an earlier phase. Yet now, the 22-year-old’s jinking run was halted by the falling arm of Wout Faes. Unlike Tielemans, Kolo Muani found the net with his spot-kick and gave Les Bleus the lead in the 35th minute.

In a commendable display of grit, however, Domenico Tedesco’s side fought back in the third minute of first half stoppage time. Timothy Castagne bombed forward on the left before cutting back and picking out Openda’s creeping run between the centre-backs with brilliant precision. The striker nodded home from close-range, and after another VAR check for offside, Belgium and France went into the break honours even.

After the interval, France believed they’d restored their lead through Manu Kone just before the hour. His cool strike into the bottom-right corner was chalked off for a foul in the build-up. This was a mere precursor, however, as Kolo Muani notched his second of the game just three minutes later. Lucas Digne provided a sweet left-sided cross, and the PSG striker leaped highest to head low past Coen Casteels into the bottom-right. Aurelien Tchouameni’s second yellow card looked to make the final 15 minutes tricky for the visitors, yet a somewhat wasteful Belgium just couldn’t restore parity a second time.

With this result, France are placed second on nine points, while Belgium are third with four. The Red Devils’ next match in November is Italy at home, before a final test against Israel. France will play the reverse of that pairing, welcoming Israel before heading to Italy.

Belgium wasteful, French lack of discipline unpunished

In this battle of FIFA’s sixth and second-best ranked sides, the game was widely very even and the gritty nature of the clash in midfield can be seen from the sheer amount of yellow cards (seven). However, the main difference between these two sides, of course, was the threat in front of goal.

In expected goals statistics alone, the hosts underperformed their 2.06 xG, while France exceeded their xG of 1.42. While France took their lesser opportunities, Belgium often had the game in their grasp. They had 20 shots, with seven on target, yet according to Fotmob’s data – created just three big chances.

A despondent image for much of the game, for this writer, came in the form of Jeremy Doku. Often criticised for being one-dimensional, the winger had a superb start and looked to have Lucas Digne on strings in the early stages – earning a foul and yellow card for the Aston Villa man just seven minutes in. However, Doku’s six successful dribbles from 12, and two accurate crosses of five simply weren’t potent enough. Digne should, in no way, have been able to adapt like he did to the 22-year-old. Furthermore, before this comes across like a hit piece, the jinking wideman wasn’t the only example of iffy decision making.

Of course, Tielemans’ penalty miss in the first half was glaring, yet, in the final exchanges following Aurelien Tchouameni’s second yellow card, Leandro Trossard emerged as another lacklustre performer. Granted, he forced a save from Mike Maignan with that resulting free-kick, yet he also smashed straight at the keeper in the final moments when Openda was waiting at the back post. Considering the ferocity with which Belgium started the game, the concluding stages of desperation perhaps alluded to a wider wilting international expectation as the Red Devils continue to stutter when it matters.

Left-backs catch the eye in Brussels

While the previous section criticised Trossard, it must be said that the Arsenal man did link up well with one of Belgium’s star performers of the evening, Timothy Castagne. The Fulham left-back showed his quality, despite playing just 13 minutes of the Premier League season so far, and bagged himself an impressive assist.

Admittedly, he worked well with another under-performer in Doku, and showed a solid capability in both attack and defence. He supplied that sumptuous cross for Openda’s close-range header, cutting back from the left, and with a stat sheet that read: 20/27 accurate passes, two chances created, 2/2 successful dribbles, as well as 2/3 accurate crosses – it’s no wonder the 28-year-old received an ovation when he was substituted for Maxim De Cuyper in the 67th minute.

Lucas Digne was another that stood out. He recovered brilliantly after Doku looked to have him in a spin early with a foul that warranted a yellow card, yet for the remaining 83-plus minutes, the experienced 31-year-old handled his opponent well. While he only had two of his eleven crosses find their intended target, his assist shows that a statsheet can be deceptive. He was solid in defence, with 10 registered defensive actions, 2/4 tackles completed and 5/8 ground duels won. He provided a great foundation for the exciting Barcola to build off and create upon, while also offering an outlet going forward.

This performance a platform for Kolo Muani?

Thanks to our colleagues at our French sister site, we can grasp the weight of just how well Randal Kolo Muani played on Monday evening, as well as build a wider perception of the conversation around his form in a France shirt.

As writer Joel Lefevre analysed in his post-match piece, Kolo Muani’s brace sees him continue this enigmatic stature in French football. While the PSG striker has visibly struggled at club level as the Parisians look to fill the Mbappe-shaped void, he looks to have put mistakes on the international stage behind him to become a recent force in Deschamps’ ranks. The World Cup runner-up has nine goal involvements in his last eight starts with Les Bleus, while he’s got more goals than anyone this year (six). France have scored in each of their last four games in the UEFA Nations League, and scoring nine goals in that run, Kolo Muani has chipped in with a third of that tally alone.

Club form has been contradictory to the forward’s recent national team exploits. Admittedly, with just 11 goals in 49 competitive matches, he has looked far from warranting the €90m deal PSG completed to sign him from Eintracht Frankfurt in September 2023.

His scorching 15 goals in 32 Bundesliga games during the 2022-23 campaign hint that this recent international hot-streak can be repeated domestically. However, it may a reasonable suggestion that the forward step out of the capital city limelight, and potentially try his luck elsewhere. Lifting personal burdens may be the best thing for him, just as he has done when accepting previous failures like his infamous missed opportunity in 2022’s World Cup Final.

GBeNeFN | Max Bradfield