Belgian Media Preview Knockout Stage Opponents: Could Face France or the Netherlands If Not Group Winners

After an unexpected defeat to Slovakia in their opening match, Belgian media HLN looks ahead to the potential scenarios for the “Red Devils” in the tournament, suggesting they may face France or the Netherlands in the knockout rounds if they don’t finish top of their group.

The newspaper acknowledges that the loss to Slovakia was unforeseen, but argues that it won’t significantly impact Belgium’s chances, as they can still advance from the group stage, possibly even as group winners. With 24 teams participating in this edition of the Euros, the top two from each group automatically progress to the knockouts, along with the four best third-placed teams.

Key to their recovery will be their second match against current group leaders Romania. A victory would put Belgium back in contention for one of the top two spots. Given Romania’s convincing win over Ukraine, Belgium will also need to secure a significant goal difference advantage against their opponents.

According to the tournament format, the E Group winner will face the third-placed team from either A, B, C, or D in the first knockout round, while the E Group runner-up will play the second-placed team from D. If Belgium finishes third, they’ll have to confront another group’s winner. The D Group consists of France, the Netherlands, Austria, and Poland. In other words, the opening loss has increased the likelihood of Belgium encountering either the Netherlands or France in the quarterfinals.

Although it’s premature to make definitive predictions, the situation for the Belgian team has clearly changed.