Belgium suffered a heavy 4-1 away defeat to France on Monday, 5 October, in their fourth UEFA Nations League League A fixture. The Red Devils, who had taken the lead through Dodi Lukebakio, collapsed in the final stages against a French offensive onslaught.
Mark van Bommel named a 4-2-3-1 starting eleven with Maarten Vandevoordt in goal, a defence of Timothy Castagne, Nathan Ngoy, Brandon Mechele and Joaquin Seys. The midfield was held by Nicolas Raskin and Romeo Lavia, while the attack featured Lukebakio, Hans Vanaken, Diego Moreira and Romelu Lukaku up front.
Belgium started the match well. In the 35th minute, Romeo Lavia found Dodi Lukebakio who beat Guillaume Restes to open the scoring. The Red Devils held firm until the hour mark, but substitutions made by Zinédine Zidane changed the game. Introduced in the 72nd minute, Désiré Doue equalised five minutes later from a Lucas Da Cunha pass.
The late collapse
The Belgian defence then crumbled. Rayan Cherki, set up by Michael Olise, put Les Bleus ahead in the 81st minute. Olise himself compounded the misery in the 88th minute, then completed a double in added time, assisted twice by Doue, for a harsh 4-1 final score. The statistics reflected French dominance, with 66% possession and 23 shots to Belgium's 5.
Van Bommel reacted with several changes, bringing on Mika Godts and Charles De Ketelaere in the 70th minute. Romeo Lavia, Joaquin Seys and the manager himself received yellow cards in a difficult second half.
The Red Devils' recent form is mixed, however, with three losses and two wins in their last five matches. The team must regroup quickly before their next key away fixture in Turkey on 12 November.
French manager Zinedine Zidane highlighted the role of his substitutes in the win. "It's good to put things right, and that's what we did with an extraordinary second half," Zidane told TF1. The manager thus secured his first home win since taking charge. The Red Devils, whose last outing was on October 5th (France 4-1 Belgium), will travel to Turkey on November 12th.
Désiré Doué, scorer and decisive passer in France's 4-1 comeback, praised the team spirit. "We were all involved: those who started and those who came on," the PSG player told TF1. The Red Devils, whose last match was a 4-1 defeat in France on October 5th, face Turkey on November 12th.
Real Madrid highlighted their player's role in the French victory. The Madrid club stated that Eduardo Camavinga started and played 88 minutes at the Stade de France. The midfielder thus featured in the Blues' 4-1 success against the Red Devils on October 5th. Belgium, whose last outing was that defeat, will face Turkey on November 12th.
