Brussels will host a friendly clash between home side Belgium and visitors Luxembourg, as it promises to be entertaining.
Domenico Tedesco will want further improvements from his Belgian players to stand a big chance to make a big statement at the Euros. Much like the case with all international sides, the manager has had limited time to gauge and select the best possible group for the finals, and it does appear he has as Belgium get set to host Luxembourg.
While there are concerns about their considerable tournament pedigree, Belgium will again enter a grand event with big hopes pinned on their shoulders. However, only a few bookmakers fancy their chances with the Red Devils this time.
Belgium come into this contest against Luxembourg on the back of a win against Montenegro in their first friendly of this round of international fixtures. The home crowd will hope for a showing from their players, as this might be the last chance saloon for some of their established stars to win a major tournament.
Meanwhile, Luxembourg head into this clash at the back of a 3-0 loss against France away from home. Kylian Mbappe was among the scorers for Les Bleus, although Luc Holtz will have been mildly satisfied with their display against one of the continental tournament favourites.
Holtz will want further improvement in their form as they will primarily focus on their UEFA Nations League group facing Northern Ireland, Belarus and Bulgaria. However, they will enjoy a better performance here to go into those clashes with optimum confidence.
Team News & Tactics
Belgium
Kevin De Bruyne scored on his 100th cap for Belgium against Montenegro and will have a place in the starting lineup for the Luxembourg clash. There were some players that Tedesco left out entirely in the previous friendly, including Romelu Lukaku and Youri Tielemans, although only the former might feature from the start.
Lukaku could get the opportunity to lead the line for Belgium, while Leandro Trossard might find himself on the bench alongside Tielemans. Zeno Debast, Maxim De Cuyper, Arthur Vermeeren and Lois Openda played the entire 90 minutes in the last game and could drop out of the lineup.
Johan Bakayoko and Jeremy Doku could marshall the wings, with Amadou Onana and Orel Mangala likely occupying midfield berths. Alternatively, Tedesco could experiment with Tielemans alongside Onana, but he might prefer the Nottingham Forest man in the mix.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Casteels; Meunier, Witsel, Vertonghen, Castagne; Mangala, Onana; Bakayoko, De Bruyne, Doku; Lukaku
Luxembourg
Luc Holtz will not have midfield star Leandro Barreiro for this game or the entire month as he takes Luxembourg to play against Belgium and was also absent for the France clash. The manager will have a host of long-serving stars available for selection for this clash, barring those who sustained problems against France.
Sebastien Thill and Mirza Mustafic were the ones who suffered problems against the French and will sit out of this clash against Belgium. They will also have winger Gerson Rodrigues available, Luxembourg’s all-time top scorer with 21 goals. Moreover, Chris Phillips will come into this lineup as Holtz will only make changes due to those injury-enforced players.
Captain and Defender Laurent Jans, who played in the German third tier, will wear the armband and is sure to start against Belgium.
Probable Lineup (4-1-4-1): Moris; Dzogovic, Chanot, Mahmutovic; Jans; Martins Pereira; Sinani, Philipps, Olesen, Carlson; Rodrigues
Key Stats
- Belgium have not lost a game since the 2022 World Cup on the international stage.
- Belgium have kept a clean sheet in four of their last five games.
- Belgium have won nine of their last 13 games.
- Luxembourg last met Belgium over a decade ago in a 5-1 loss.
Player to Watch
Romelu Lukaku
It was a bit surprising for Tedesco to keep Lukaku out of the picture in their first friendly against Montenegro. But he could bring his star striker back against Luxembourg. The experienced attacker will want to make a significant mark and prove some of his doubters wrong, who have criticised him for his performances for Belgium at big tournaments.
For a long time, Lukaku used to start up front unchallenged. But this time, Tedesco will have some options to play around with which may keep Lukaku on his toes. For instance, Lois Openda seems like a great option to start games after the season he has had, but Lukaku might have the chance to prove to his manager that he remains Belgium’s undisputed choice at No.9.
Prediction
Belgium 2-0 Luxembourg
Luc Holtz will solely look for a good, spirited performance against Belgium, similar to the one they had against France. However, Luxembourg does not come into this clash anywhere close to hurting this Belgium side, who have won nine of their last 13 games and are unbeaten during that period.
Domenico Tedesco will again look to heavily rotate his squad during the game, which could affect the scoreline against Montenegro. Then again, Belgium have the quality and depth to take a win over Luxembourg, and they will do so with a 2-0 scoreline.
