Anwar Ibrahim (Cairo)
The French and Belgium national teams will meet next Monday, in the round of 16 of the European Nations Cup (Euro 2024), currently being held in Germany. It is a confrontation between two teams that know each other well, and their matches are usually characterized by excitement, strength, and fierce competition, even if the results are often in favor of… “Roosters”, more so than “Red Devils”.
In a video broadcast on the YouTube channel of the French Football Federation, Didier Deschamps, the coach of the French national team, spoke about his feelings and impressions, after officially knowing his opponent in the 16-final, and said: Belgium is one of the heavy teams that is strong in major tournaments, and we know each other. Because we met more than once, as happened in the 2018 World Cup semi-final in Russia, and we won with a goal scored by defender Samuel Umtiti, and we met again in the 2021 European Nations League, and we achieved a 3-2 victory.
He added: It is a difficult confrontation for us and for them, but we are able to make a difference, and we followed them during their first three matches in the group stage, and we realize that they have talents and stars with technical abilities and high individual skills in the offensive line, such as Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, Jeremy Doku, and Trossard. And others.
Deschamps, who won the World Cup as a player and coach with the “Roosters”, said: It is a confrontation between two teams that are expected to go far in the tournament, even if the start of each of them disappointed the hopes of their fans, and we faced some difficulties, but we know what we can do against this strong competitor, and we have the motivation and drive. We must give our utmost effort in the confrontation.
On the other hand, some Belgian players spoke about their initial impressions of the difficult confrontation between two major European neighbors, whose matches together became “classics” of European football.
Dangerous winger Jeremy Doko said: The French have many world-class stars, even if they have not yet played big matches, because they always have one or more stars who make the difference, and that is why we must be careful when facing them, and I expect that we will see a good match from both sides. Because players have a lot of incentives and motivations to excel and shine.
As for Youri Tielemans, he expressed a degree of fear, and said: They are the French team, and they are always strong in major tournaments, and we do not have a “contract,” and we came to Germany to do our work, and advance from one round to another until we reach the furthest extent in the tournament.
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