Belgium vs France na the big UEFA Nations League 2026-27 Group A1 match wey go happen on Monday, September 28, for King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium. Kick-off na 8:45pm local time, wey be 18:45 GMT. Al Jazeera Sport go carry all the build-up and live updates from 15:45 GMT.
France captain Kylian Mbappe no go play. The Real Madrid striker get knee injury and e go sidon out for two weeks, so e no go reach mid-October. E still do im part for France opening match as e score the only goal for second half when France beat Turkiye 1-0, but the injury spoil the win small.
Even without Mbappe, France no dey short of talent. Michael Olise, Ousmane Dembele and Desire Doue go carry the goal-scoring responsibility for match day two. Olise was man of the match last time out and e don start well for Bayern Munich this season with eight goals and four assists in seven matches across all competitions. Rayan Cherki too don find net for Manchester City with four goals and two assists.
Belgium also start with win. Dem beat Italy 2-0 for Rome, and Kevin De Bruyne dey inside the squad with all im experience. De Bruyne na the man wey pull strings for midfield, and for the last game e provide assist and collect man-of-the-match. Fans also watch Diego Moreira on left wing after e score three goals in as many league games for AC Milan this term.
Monday match go see new coaches for hot seat. Former Dutch international Mark van Bommel don take over Belgium, while legendary Zinedine Zidane, former France midfielder, return to coaching job. Zidane tok say, ‘There will be changes. How many? You’ll see. We knew we’d have four matches in such a short time, so we’re going to rotate the squad a little. The most important thing is to get to know each other.’ Van Bommel tok say, ‘It is special to coach against someone like that. He [Zidane] was an exceptional footballer, and I played against him once, with Barcelona against Real Madrid. If a dribbling move is named after you, then you must have done pretty well. He is a good coach too; that’s clear.’
Belgium get two injuries for squad. Winger Leandro Trossard get heel injury, while goalkeeper Mike Penders get muscle issue. France own no be better: Mbappe out with knee injury until mid-October, central midfielder Warren Zaire-Emery out with thigh injury, and defensive midfielder Matteo Guendouzi suspended.
UEFA Nations League start for 2018 to reduce number of meaningless friendlies and give nations competitive matches against top-ranked teams. Countries from across Europe dey participate in league structure wey get promotion and relegation. The two teams last meet for Nations League group encounter in October 2024, and Randal Kolo Muani double give France 2-1 win over Belgium. Last five games, latest results first: Belgium W-L-W-W-W; France W-W-L-L-W.
Probable Belgium XI: Senne Lammens; Timothy Castagne, Nathan Ngoy, Brandon Mechele, Maxim De Cuyper; Nicolas Raskin; Dodi Lukebakio, Kevin De Bruyne, Youri Tielemans, Diego Moreira; Charles De Ketelaere. Probable France XI: Mike Maignan; Jules Kounde, Dayot Upamecano, Maxence Lacroix, Andy Diouf; Rayan Cherki, Manu Kone, Adrien Rabiot; Michael Olise, Desire Doue, Ousmane Dembele.
For viewers, you can find your regional broadcaster on UEFA official broadcaster listing. For Nigeria, SuperSport Premier League ROA dey on supersport.com. Watching on phone or laptop dey fine, but live sports belong on big screen.
