Euro 2024 Clash: France Favored Over Belgium In Round Of 16, Dugarry Asserts

Christophe Dugarry, a former World Cup winner with France, believes that France should not be intimidated by Belgium in their upcoming Euro 2024 round of 16 match. Despite finishing second behind Austria in Group D after some lacklustre performances, including a Maximilian Wober own goal and a Kylian Mbappe penalty, Dugarry thinks France has the advantage.

France's journey to the Euro title has become more difficult, with potential matches against Spain, Portugal, Germany, and Belgium. According to Opta's supercomputer, this has reduced their winning probability to 13%. However, Dugarry remains optimistic about France’s chances.

Dugarry, speaking as a pundit on Rothen s'ignee on RMC, pointed out Belgium's defensive weaknesses. He mentioned the age and performance of defenders like Jan Vertonghen, who is 37 years old. Despite having talented midfielders, Belgium lacks defensive strength. Their golden generation appears to be losing its effectiveness and aggression.

French defender William Saliba acknowledged their scoring issues but remained hopeful. He stressed the importance of being more effective, especially with set-pieces. Both France and Belgium had poor conversion rates in the group stages, each scoring only two goals from 48 shots—the second-worst conversion rate after Serbia.

Dugarry warned that France must exploit Belgium's weaknesses by improving their goal-scoring efficiency. This area was problematic for them during the group stage.

Key Players to Watch

Kylian Mbappe is a key player for France. He scored his first Euro goal via penalty against Poland and is close to breaking national scoring records. For Belgium, playmaker Kevin De Bruyne will be crucial. He led in line-breaking passes during the group stage.

Historically, France performs well against Belgium in major tournaments. They have won all four previous encounters with Belgium in such settings, including a 5-0 victory in their only prior Euro meeting in 1984.

Historical Edge and Current Statistics

Current Opta statistics give France a 58.4% probability of winning compared to Belgium's 20.8%. This historical edge adds to Dugarry’s confidence that France can succeed if they capitalise on their strengths.

In summary, while France has faced challenges and hasn't been entirely convincing so far, Dugarry believes they should approach their match against Belgium with confidence. If attackers like Mbappe find their form, they have a strong chance of advancing further in the tournament.

Belgium will rely heavily on De Bruyne’s playmaking abilities to challenge France. This makes for an intriguing and high-stakes round of 16 match between these two teams.