Belgium face France tonight in the semi-finals of the second season of the Uefa Nations League.
It’s the first meeting of the team since the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup, where France edged a tight match 1-0 thanks to Samuel Umtiti’s header in St Petersburg.
Didier Deschamps’ side went on the win the World Cup for the second time but struggled in the recent European Championships, where they were eliminated in the last 16 by Switzerland on penalties.
Belgium remain the world’s top-ranked side and are aiming to win the first piece of silverware of their ‘golden generation’. Roberto Martinez’s side were beaten by eventual champions Italy at the quarter-final stage of the Euros this summer.
Here’s all the information you need to know before the match this evening.
When is Belgium vs France?
The match will kick off at 7:45pm BST on Thursday 7 October and will be played at the Juventus Stadium in Turin.
How can I watch it?
It will be shown live on Sky Sports Football, with coverage starting at 7:30pm. If you’re not a Sky customer you can grab a NOWTV Day Pass here to watch without a subscription. We may earn commission from some of the links in this article, but we never allow this to influence our content.
What is the team news?
Belgium are without attackers Dries Mertens and Jeremy Doku and defender Thomas Vermaelen from their Euro 2020 squad but the rest of the old guard returns for manager Roberto Martinez. Eden Hazard has yet to play 90 minutes this season for Real Madrid but has featured in their last five matches as he looks to build up his fitness.
France will be without N’Golo Kante due to the Chelsea midfielder’s positive Covid-19 test, and Deschamps has three fresh faces in Aurelien Tchouameni, Jordan Veretout and former Arsenal man Matteo Guendouzi as possible replacements to start alongside Paul Pogba, as well as Adrien Rabiot. Karim Benzema remains in the squad and has been in brilliant goalscoring form this season for Real Madrid. Corentin Tolisso and Thomas Lemar have not been included.
Possible line-ups
Belgium: Courtois; Alderweireld, Denayer, Vertonghen; Castagne, Witsel, Tielemans, Carrasco; De Bruyne, E. Hazard; Lukaku
France: Lloris; Pavard, Varane, Kimpembe, L. Hernandez; Rabiot, Pogba, Tchouameni; Griezmann, Benzema, Mbappe
Odds
Belgium: 21/10
Draw: 11/5
France: 11/8
Prediction
This could go either way as both teams have so much quality, but Belgium’s system looked significantly more convincing than France’s during the Euros and that gives them the edge in what should be a close match. Belgium 1-0 France