France - Belgium live online updates, score and stats | UEFA Euro 2024

Weather check!

Temperature: 20°

Sky: Partly Cloudy

Pitch: Dry

Humidity: 53%

Wind: 17 km/h

A reminder of the lineups:

FRANCE XI:

GK: Maignan

DEF: Koundé  - Upamecano - Saliba - Theo

MID: Kanté - Tchouaméni - Rabiot

ATT: Mbappé - Thuram - Griezmann

BELGIUM XI:

GK: Casteels

DEF: Castagne - Vertonghen - Faes - Theate - Carrasco

MID: Onana - De Bruyne

ATT: Openda - Lukaku - Doku

Fifteen minutes to go!

Warmups are being finalised and the two sides are making their way into the dressing rooms for the final team talks!

Openda opens up on role:

My role here is to be the second striker. I'm very familiar with that. I also know that when the coach needs me to come onto the pitch or to play, I will always be there. I came here to represent my country, to help the team and also to win something.

France to wear their white away strip

It's a beauty. So far, both sides are 1-1 and level in the battle of beautiful kits.

Warmups underway!

The two sides are on the pitch and are going through their respective warmup routines ahead of kick-off, which is just 20 minutes away!

Dembélé dropped

The Frenchman has been dropped for today's Game, with Deschamps clearly preferring a slightly less erratic profile of player in his XI.

However, against tired legs, I certainly wouldn't want to come up against an Ousmané Dembélé with a point to prove... expect him to make an impact if/when he comes on in the second period.

Who to watch: Belgium

I know he gets a lot of hate, but Romelu Lukaku has a skillset that not many other forward players at the elite level possess, and his hold-up play, when it comes off, is second to none. 

Up against Saliba and Upamecano, he's going to have a multitude of physical battles, but if there's any man who can hold off the opposition back line and bring others into the play, it's Lukaku.

The full referee team:

Referee: Gelnn Nyberg SWE

Assistant referees: Andreas Söderkvist SWE, Pol van Boekel NED

Video Assistant Referee: Bartosz Frankowski POL

Assistant Video Assistant Referee 1: Rob Dieperink NED

Assistant Video Assistant Referee 2: Donatas Rumšas LTU

Confirmation of the France XI:

And that confirms Griezmann starting behind a front two, right?

It looks likely, but we're still yet to see if the system switch will give France their bite back.

Belgium looking for revenge...

The recent history between the two sides has only gone one way: France's. 

We've seen Les Bleus win twice in the recent past over the Red Devils, meaning Tedesco's team finding the spark is not going to be an issue.

Losses to France in the semi-finals at the 2018 World Cup and the 2020/21 UEFA Nations League will be firmly on the minds of the players in red.

The mystery continues...

UEFA have gone with a standard 4-3-3 for the Belgium line-up, although as mentioned, I wouldn't be surprised to see Carrasco drop back and form a line of 5 defenders with Onana patrolling behind KDB, who will once again look to be his side's creative spark.

Have your say!

Remember, we've got a poll up and running - and we want you to vote!

Who's going through to the next round of the Euros?

If you're feeling brave, drop me a score prediction below the line.

EURO 2024

Euro 2024 round of 16: what happens if there’s a tie?

So, if we do have a stalemate after 90 minutes and France don't take advantage of Opta's positivity, what happens?

· 30 minutes of extra time (2 15-minute halves)

· Penalty shootout (if needed after extra-time)

For a more in-depth explainer, give Roddy's piece a whirl before kick-off.

Will Tedesco play with 3 or 4 defenders?

Carrasco could well start in the middle of a midfield 3, on the left of a midfield 4 (less likely) or even as a wing-back in a defensive 5. 

I think his role will depend on whether or not France go with 2 forwards (Mbappé and Thuram), or just stick with the single striker.

Opta say France are favourites

The whizz kids over at Opta Towers have France down as favourites over their northern European rivals, and they have a 49.6% chance of making through today's Game after 90 minutes.

A draw is sitting at 27.8% while a Belgian win after 90 is at 22.6%.

The players have arrived at the stadium!

Both squads are currently on the pitch for their pre-game wander of the playing surface as the first few fans drip into the ground. 

EURO 2024

Spain - Georgia: suMMAry, score, goals, highlights Euro 2024

Here's a quick look back at yesterday's action...

A dominant Spanish team overcame an early scare to reach the quarters, with goals from Rodri, Ruiz, Williams and Olmo entertaining the Cologne Stadium.

They remain the most impressive side at the tournament and were the standout performers of yesterday's quarter final games that we saw.

Meanwhile, England limped past Slovakia after going a goal down int he first half, and it took a late piece of overhead magic from Jude Bellingham to draw level and take the game to extra-time, where Harry Kane would head past the goalkeeper as the clock ticked on to put the Three Lions into the final 8.

LINEUPS REVEALED:

FRANCE XI:

GK: Maignan

DEF: Koundé - Saliba - Upamecano - Theo

MID: Kanté - Tchouaméni - Rabiot

ATT: Griezmann - Thuram - Mbappé

BELGIUM XI:

GK: Casteels

DEF: Theate - Faes - Vertonghen - Castagne

MID: Carrasco - Onana - De Bruyne

ATT: Openda - Lukaku - Doku 

Who to watch: Mbappé

Absolutely searing analysis from myself here, claiming that the best player in the world is the one man to keep an eye on. However, there's more to it than just watching good players kick the ball around.

France's goalscoring has been an issue as they're yet to hit top gear so far at the Euros, and Mbappé is going to have to be the man to zap them back into life.

His relationship with Bradley Barcola is also an interesting nuance to the attack: the PSG youngster has shone at club level and looks to have formed an on-pitch bond with Real Madrid's new shiny toy. If Barcola sees minutes, watch out for his Kylian link-up play.

Can he do it with the mask? On the face of it, such a question sounds hugely trivial and even patronising, but it's been Kylian himself who has been complaining about wearing the facial protection.

France's slight slip-up...

I’ll admit I was wrong here. I didn’t see France slipping up at all and I expected them to whizz through the first phase of the competition with a 100% record.

Alas, the unpredictability of the game is why we love it, and seeing Les Bleus fail to find the killer touch in the final group game against Poland, drawing 1-1, meant they fell into second place behind Austria. 

That final draw saw Austria leapfrog them and as result, they will play against Turkiye in their Round of 16 game.

Koen Casteels previews the game:

 "Everyone is ready for the round of 16.

"We all need to be in top form in order to win this game. But we believe, and we should focus on our own strengths. You can see in training that everyone is really focused, including on the plan that the coach has given us, to execute it to the best of our abilities."

Mbappé on playing with a mask:

“It is really difficult. It limits your vision, and the sweat gets blocked up, so you have to take it off to let it run away. As soon as I can take it off I will do, but I don’t have a choice. That is how my tournament is going to be. I can only play like that.”

Here's the other game today.

Three hours after kick-off between France and Belgium, we've got Portugal taking on Slovenia. The winner of these two games will face each other in the quarter finals, which will take place in Hamburg. 

Will we see Deschamps change things up?

Remarkably, it's been France's lack of a killer instinct in front of goal that has caused eyebrows to be raised during the tournament. 

As such, the noises coming from Les Bleus' camp are that the manager is set to deploy Griezmann behind a front two pairing of Mbappé and Thuram.

We don't have the team news quite yet, so we'll have to wait and see if Deschamps springs a surprise. 

I said they were making plenty of pre-Game noise!

The French fans have got to get their groove on if they want to keep up with the Red Devils' fans!

EURO 2024

When is France - Belgium? Times, how to watch on TV and stream online | Euro 2024

Remember, if you want to follow the action live as well as keep up to date with the live text commentary, then you can. Just follow the steps in the handy explainer and find out how to get the action on your screen as it happens.

Good news!

Belgium are set to wear their lovely wine-coloured shirt for the clash today. It's a lot better than their Tintin-inspired away strip. The one with the brown shorts.

Who's the ref?

The man with the whistle for the clash today is Glenn Nyberg.

The Swedish official is a seasoned pro at the top level and has overseen games in the Champions League as well as his regular hunting ground, the Allsvenskan. During the Euros, he’s been in charge of both Romania vs Ukraine and Albania vs Spain.

Misses next match if booked: 

FRA: Dembélé, Mbappé, Rabiot

BEL: Faes, Mangala, Tielemans

Things are shaping up ahead of kick-off!

The fans aren't inside yet - but they're making plenty of noise on the streets around the ground!

Here's the venue for today:

Today’s game is being played at the Merkur Spiel-Arena in Dusseldorf. The 51,000-seat capacity ground was opened in 2004 and is home to Fortuna Dusseldorf.

During the tournament, the ground is being named Düsseldorf Arena, as it was during Eurovision, which I’m sure you’ll remember.

Belgium team news

As for Belgium, they’ve got a fully fit squad and we are expecting them to put out a full-strength lineup for the game.

France team news

Didier Deschamps’ France squad is back at full fitness with Kylian Mbappé already used to playing in his superhero mask.

The Real Madrid forward suffered a broken nose against Austria but his physical problem will not prevent him from playing today.

Kick-off is in around 90 minutes.

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to the AS USA live coverage of France vs Belgium in the Euro 2024 Round of 16. 

We’ve got a huge heavyweight clash in the first knockout round, with two of the tournament’s top squads going up against each other.

It's Joe here to guide you through the action as it happens.