New Belgium manager Domenico Tedesco will kick-start his reign with a tough UEFA Euro 2024 qualifier fixture against Sweden.
Sweden and Belgium will square up against each other to start their 2024 European Championship qualification campaign in Solna on Friday night. The home team are heading into this fixture on the back of four consecutive friendly wins, while the visitors are playing their first match since their early exit from the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Belgium, Austria, Azerbaijan, Estonia, and Sweden are all part of Group F for the UEFA Euro 2024 Qualifiers. And, only the top two teams will gain a direct qualification from this group, as a result, every result will matter.
Sweden have had a tough time of late in international football. They failed to qualify for the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar. And, their last competitive fixture was a 1-1 draw with Slovenia in the UEFA Nations League last September.
However, they did have a good outing in the Euro 2020. Janne Andersson’s men made it to the Last 16 before being knocked out at the hands of Ukraine. Sweden have never won the European Championship, but they made it to the semi-finals in 1992 and the quarter-finals in 2004.
The home team are heading into this fixture on the back of four friendly wins against Mexico, Algeria, Finland, and Iceland. And, they will be hoping to kick-start their campaign with a win. After their first match against Belgium, Sweden will face Azerbaijan on March 27.
As far as Belgium are concerned, it is the start of a new era for them under Domenico Tedesco who took charge in February. The visitors underperformed at the FIFA World Cup 2022 which led to the departure of Roberto Martinez. And, now with the appointment of Tedesco, they will hope for better things.
Belgium only managed four points out of their three games at the World Cup and were knocked out from the group stage. They were expected to top the group which had Croatia, Morocco, and Canada. But, they ended up being third.
They reached the quarter-finals of the last two European Championships and were runners-up back in the 1980 competition. With Domenico Tedesco as their new head coach, they will expect to go further this time around.
During this international break, Belgium only have one Euro 2024 qualifier match and a friendly match against Germany on March 28. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at this fixture and tries to predict the tactics that they could deploy.
Team News & Tactics
Sweden
Janne Andersson has recalled 41-year-old Zlatan Ibrahimovic into his squad for the Euro Qualifiers. The AC Milan striker has made it clear that he is open to featuring at Euro 2024. Meanwhile, Viktor Johansson of Rotherham United is the only uncapped player in the squad.
När @AnthonyElanga agerar VAR-domare! 😅🇸🇪 pic.twitter.com/yEZtVbDaLR
— Svensk Fotboll (@svenskfotboll) March 22, 2023
Andersson is expected to start with the 4-4-2 formation. Robin Olsen will start in goal for Sweden. Emil Holm and Ludwig Augustinsson will be the full-backs while Victor Lindelof and Isak Hien will form the centre-back pairing.
The midfield four will consist of Viktor Claesson and Emil Forsberg out wide as the duo look to provide the width and wipe the ball into the box for the forwards. Kristoffer Olsson and Jesper Karlstrom will pair up in the centre of the park as they look to control the tempo of the play.
Newcastle United’s star striker Alexander Isak will pair up with Tottenham Hotspur’s Dejan Kulusevski as the front two.
Probable Lineup (4-4-2): Olsen; Holm, Hien, Lindelof, Augustinsson; Claesson, Olsson, Karlstrom, Forsberg; Kulusevski, Isak
Belgium
Belgium’s new manager Domenico Tedesco has some of the best players in world football at his disposal. And he will look to make the best use of them in the upcoming qualifiers.
Tedesco has called up three uncapped players in his squad. Thomas Kaminski, Romeo Lavia and Johan Bakayoko are those who are yet to make their official debuts for Sweden. Lavia has done wonders at the club level and might make his debut against Sweden.
Watch the press conference with Roméo Lavia & Leandro Trossard live in our RBFA app. 🎙 #WirSchaffenDas
— Belgian Red Devils (@BelRedDevils) March 22, 2023
While the manager prefers to start with a back three, he might go ahead with the 4-3-3 formation for this fixture. Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois will start in goal. Thomas Meunier and Timothy Castagne will be the full-backs. Jan Vertonghen and Wout Faes are likely to be the centre-back pairing for this fixture.
Amadou Onana who has done a great job at Everton in the ongoing season could start alongside Kevin De Bruyne and Lavia in the centre of the park. Leandro Trossard and Yannick Carrasco will start out wide as the wingers. The duo will look to cut inside as well as provide crosses for Romelu Lukaku who is expected to start as the number nine.
Probable Lineup (4-4-2): Courtois; Meunier, Vertonghen, Faes, Castagne; Onana, De Bruyne, Lavia; Trossard, Lukaku, Carrasco
Key Stats
- Sweden and Belgium have squared up against each other 15 times in all competitions. They first played each other back in 1908 in a friendly.
- Belgium have won nine out of the 15 matches against Sweden. While the home team have four wins to their name.
- While they have squared up against each other twice at the Euro, the two teams will be meeting first time in the qualifying stage of the Euros.
- Belgium are unbeaten in their last four meetings against Sweden having won three of those fixtures.
- Sweden are on a four-match winning streak while Belgium have won just two out of their last five games.
Player to Watch
Kevin De Bruyne
There are not many better players in world football at this point in time than Kevin De Bruyne. The Manchester City midfielder has been on fire in the ongoing season. He has scored six goals and has 21 assists to his name in his 36 outings.
While he was not at his best at the FIFA World Cup 2022, he is still Belgium’s most important player. And, Domenico Tedesco will expect the 31-year-old to deliver for his team. De Bruyne will look to link up with Lukaku at the top and get the job done for his national team against Sweden.
Prediction
Sweden 1-2 Belgium
Sweden are heading into this encounter after winning their last four matches, while Belgium have not had the best of times of late. Janne Andersson’s men will be eager to get their Euro qualifying campaign underway with a win but it won’t be an easy task given the quality of the players in the Belgian squad.
The Red Devils have a new manager in Tedesco. And, he will surely try his best to get going with a win. The former RB Leipzig manager has some of the best players at his disposal. And, they are good enough to get the job done. As a result, The Hard Tackle predicts a 2-1 win for the visitors.
