France and Belgium return to a rivalry shaped by old neighbours and modern tournament pain, with the Stade de France still the setting of Belgium’s last victory over Les Bleus in June 2015.
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France will face Belgium again on Monday at 20:45 in the Nations League, meeting the national side they have played more than any other. The fixture has been contested 78 times since the first official international between the countries, a 3-3 draw on 1 May 1904.
Belgium retain a narrow overall edge, largely built during the frequent friendly matches of the early twentieth century. They have won 30 times, compared with 29 French victories, while 19 games have ended level. France lost seven of the first 10 meetings, when the sides were often scheduled to play each other annually.
The picture changes sharply in competitive football. France have recorded 10 wins, three draws and three defeats against Belgium in official matches, and have lost only twice to their neighbours since 1981.
Their first major tournament success against Belgium came at the 1938 World Cup, when France won 3-1 in the round of 16. In qualifying for the 1958 World Cup, Thadée Cisowski scored five goals in a 6-3 French victory. A goalless return match secured France’s place in Sweden.
Some meetings have become permanent markers in French football history. At Euro 1984, Michel Platini struck a hat-trick as France swept Belgium aside 5-0. Bernard Genghini joined Platini, Jean Tigana, Alain Giresse and Luis Fernandez in a one-off version of the famous midfield “magic square”, and France went on to lift the trophy.
France then beat Belgium 4-2 in the 1986 World Cup third-place match. More recently, Samuel Umtiti’s goal settled the 2018 World Cup semi-final 1-0, putting Didier Deschamps’ side on course for the title and leaving deep frustration across the border.
The sequence continued with one of the most dramatic editions of the contest: France came from 2-0 down to defeat Belgium 3-2 in the 2021 Nations League semi-final, Theo Hernandez scoring in stoppage time. At Euro 2024, Jan Vertonghen’s late own goal sent France through with a 1-0 last-16 win.
France have now won all six knockout-stage matches between the two countries.
The next appointment in France
Monday’s Nations League match will test two squads that have changed considerably since Belgium’s most recent success, a 4-3 friendly victory in Saint-Denis in June 2015. Nabil Fekir and Dimitri Payet scored late for France that day, reducing the scale of a defeat that had already been decided.
None of the 22 players who started that match remains in either current international set-up. Romelu Lukaku, who came off the bench for Belgium in 2015, is included in new coach Mark Van Bommel’s squad.
France arrive with five consecutive victories over Belgium, including two Nations League group-stage wins in 2024. Neither was entirely comfortable.
In the first encounter, France made a slow start before Randal Kolo Muani opened the scoring and Ousmane Dembélé added a second in a 2-0 win. A month later, after Antoine Griezmann had announced his international retirement, Kolo Muani scored both French goals in a 2-1 victory.
Belgium missed an early Youri Tielemans penalty in that second game and Mike Maignan made several key saves late on, after Aurélien Tchouaméni had been sent off. Belgium had reasons to regret the result, but France again found a way through.
Van Bommel has inherited a changing Belgium. The national team has had two coaching changes since the autumn 2024 meetings, while three players who started then are absent from his latest selection. He has reshaped the group; overturning France’s recent dominance is the next task.
