Thus, the French will be in the eighth final for the Red Devils. It’s a big loss, considering the trajectory that lies ahead for the Belgians if they win tonight.
We can already see ourselves at the top of the bill. Or rather, we have already seen ourselves in the right column. Which will (most likely) send us to Slovenia and then to the winner of the Türkiye-Austria match. Of course we know that in 2016 it was not a good idea for us to have an “easy” path on paper; We also know that by avoiding the easy route, we had a legendary journey in 2018.
But still: a win on Wednesday would have made the European Championship for the Red Devils much easier. Instead, we face our enemy once again: France, which ousted us in 2018 and 2021. Behind that is Portugal’s Roberto Martinez.
However, isn’t there room for a new legendary story here? To overcome the French, at last, and then to find our former coach again, is this not the best way for these pale red devils to erase the humiliation of the Stuttgart flute concerts, which were so poorly received by the whole group?
The crowd will rally behind the Devils… because it’s France
Everyone woke up this Thursday to a negative feeling, a form of sadness that you only feel after a big argument with a loved one. But it’s not a separation or divorce. You can’t change passports that easily!
Better yet, with such an opponent in the next round, the Demon Supporters would have no choice but to immediately band together, unite and give everything they could. Because it’s France, that opponent that was for so long the noisy neighbor we loved, but has become so much bigger since 2018. If there’s one thing Belgian fans don’t want to experience anymore, it’s heckling (even friendly) from French fans.
Would the same support have come immediately if we had played Slovenia in the easier part of the table? What would the fans’ reaction have been if we were tied at the end of the 45th minute against a more modest opponent that we “should” have dominated? If Slovenia gets a dangerous counter-kick, will the Belgian fans cheer the block on Koen Casteels, or boo their defence?
Against France, it does not matter whether our devils advance to the quarter-finals with “Deschamps-like” football, after 120 mediocre minutes and on penalties. The method doesn’t matter much this time. All we want is the qualification and when the time comes, the Flute Concerto will be just a bad memory…
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