Belgium v France: can the Red Devils finally beat Les Bleus?

On Monday 28 September, Mark Van Bommel's Belgium host France at the King Baudouin Stadium on matchday two of the Nations League. Belgium v France: for many supporters, the fixture goes straight back to 10 July 2018 in Saint Petersburg. A World Cup semi-final lost 1-0, a Samuel Umtiti header, and a golden generation that would never lift a trophy.

Since that night, the Red Devils have faced Les Bleus five more times in competitive matches, and lost all five. GoldenVegas Sport, the site for betting on football, looks back at a match Belgian football has never really got over.

2018: the World Cup Belgium could have won

In July 2018, Belgium played the best World Cup in their history. In the round of 16, 2-0 down to Japan after 52 minutes, the Red Devils turned the game around through Jan Vertonghen, Marouane Fellaini and then Nacer Chadli in stoppage time (3-2). In the quarter-finals they knocked out Brazil 2-1, with a goal from Kevin De Bruyne among others.

Going into the semi-final, Belgium had the best attack at the tournament: 14 goals in five matches. Across the pitch stood Didier Deschamps' France, built around a 19-year-old Kylian Mbappé who was already tormenting defences and a squad with a depth few nations could match.

France v Belgium 2018: an Umtiti header on 51 minutes

It was a tight, tense game, tactically locked down on both sides. France gave away very little space, while Belgium moved the ball around without finding a way through the French block.

The 51st minute changed everything. From an Antoine Griezmann corner, Samuel Umtiti rose at the near post and flicked the ball on with his head, out of Thibaut Courtois' reach. 1-0 to France.

What followed was a long Belgian siege. Eden Hazard kept dribbling, De Bruyne searched for an opening, Romelu Lukaku fought every duel. But the French defence, Raphaël Varane and Umtiti with N'Golo Kanté and Paul Pogba in front of them, held firm to the end. Les Bleus went through to the final, beat Croatia 4-2 and claimed their second star.

The Belgian ‘seum’

De Bruyne, Hazard, Vincent Kompany, Lukaku, Courtois, Fellaini, Axel Witsel, Toby Alderweireld, Vertonghen: players who turned out for Europe's biggest clubs, several of whom made their breakthrough in the Jupiler Pro League, and who kept Belgium at the top of the FIFA rankings for several years. That semi-final remains the closest they ever came to the summit.

“They defended with eleven players 40 meters from their goal. The frustration is huge because we lost to a team that wasn’t better than us, we lost to a team that didn’t play football, only defended. It's a shame for football that Belgium didn’t win,” said Thibaut Courtois. Words that earned the goalkeeper plenty of ribbing from the French, who mocked his famous ‘seum’, French slang for bitterness.

Since 2018, five defeats in a row to France

The wound from Saint Petersburg has never healed, because Les Bleus have reopened it at every meeting. In October 2021, in the Nations League semi-final in Turin, Belgium led 2-0 at half-time and still lost 3-2. In July 2024, in the Euro round of 16, a Vertonghen own goal on 85 minutes was enough for France (1-0).

The same year, the Nations League added two more defeats: 2-0 in Lyon in September and 2-1 in Brussels in October. Belgium's last win over France goes back to a friendly in June 2015, a 4-3 victory at the Stade de France.

Belgium v France 2026: revenge for Van Bommel and the new Red Devils

Mark Van Bommel, who succeeded Rudi Garcia this summer, has made the perfect start with a 2-0 win over Italy on Friday. With Charles De Ketelaere, Mika Godts, Roméo Lavia and Senne Lammens, he has a generation that did not live through 2018 as a personal scar.

Zinédine Zidane's France arrive without Kylian Mbappé, who injured his knee against Türkiye. Kick-off is at 8.45pm at the King Baudouin Stadium. A 25% BetXtra is available on every live bet placed on Belgium v France.

One question remains: can Belgium finally defy the predictions against their neighbours?

The verdict has since come in: Les Bleus extended the run (1-0, Michael Olise on 88 minutes), then won 4-1 in France on 5 October despite Belgium having led. Third in the group on six points, Belgium now play for a quarter-final place on their trip to Izmir on 12 November.