Can Belgium win Euro 2024?

Euro 2024 is fast approaching, and with just a few weeks to go before the tournament, one nation is quietly making headway: Belgium. The Red Devils are keeping a low profile, but could wreak havoc.

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Belgium's squad for the Euro's is in the process of rebuilding, and has changed a lot since the disaster at the Qatar World Cup, where Belgium was eliminated in the group stage.

Since taking charge of the national team in February 2023, Domenico Tedesco has given Belgium a new dynamic. Playful and young but solid, Belgium is unbeaten since the World Cup, with eight wins and four draws in 12 matches.

Unknown to the general public, Domenico Tedesco is part of the new generation of coaches, highly focused on performance and data. The 38-year-old German coach began his career at Aue in Germany in 2017, before taking the reins at Schalke until 2019. After that, he joined Spartak Masow from 2019 to 2021, before going to RB Leipzig from December 2021 to September 2022, where he was sacked after a 1-4 loss to Shakhtar in the Champions League, but won a German Cup.

Far from coaches with fixed ideologies of play, Tedesco is a coach who adapts and evolves: "My idea of football is that you have to adapt to the type of players you have and the strengths you have in the team," he told Sky Sport. According to Belgian website Moustique, he is a polyglot and speaks German, French, English and Italian, which is particularly important in a dressing room like that of Belgium.

Since his arrival, Tedesco has decided to put his faith in youngsters, such as Arthur Theate (23), Jérémy Doku (21), Amadou Onana (22), Orel Mangala (26), Aster Vranckx (21), Arthur Vermeeren (19), Johan Bakayoko (photo, 21), Dodi Lukebakio (26), Zeno Debast (20) and Loïs Openda (24). They've all had their chance with the new coach.

Tedesco's preferred system is 4-3-3. The coach has installed a 4-man defence with Arthur Theate at left-back, Jan Vertonghen and Wout Faes as centre-backs and Timothy Castagne on the right. In midfield, Kevin de Bruyne will be back with the Red Devils after a long period of injury, flanked by Amadou Onana, Orel Mangala and/or Youri Tielemans. Finally, up front, we find the inexhaustible Romelu Lukaku, with Jérémy Doku and Leandro Trossard.

After the 2022 World Cup, Toby Alderweireld, the cornerstone of the Belgian defence, retired from international football, opening up a place in central defence alongside the very experienced Jan Verthongen. In Wout Faes, Tedesco has found the perfect partner for Vertonghen: fast and dynamic, the Leicester player is in great form and has been instrumental in the Foxes' promotion back into the Premier League. Furthermore, Tedesco prefers Arthur Theate (photo) to Thomas Meunier, with Timothy Castagne on the other side of the pitch.

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Since 28 March 2023, Kevin de Bruyne has not played a single minute in a Red Devils shirt, but Tedesco has found a solution. He introduced a strong rotation with Onana, Tielemans and Mangala as the mainstays, while Vranckx and Vermeeren have been given a few starts. Who will play alongside KDB in Germany? Under normal circumstances, Mangala, Tielemans and Onana will battle it out for the two places, with a preference for the latter two.

With 14 goals, Romelu Lukaku was (by far) the top scorer in the Euro 2024 qualifiers. With a quadruple against Azerbaijan (5-1) and a sensational hat-trick in Sweden (3-0), the Belgian striker has recovered well from his difficult World Cup. In fine form with AS Roma, he will be Belgium's number 1 striker, ahead of Loïs Openda.

To support Lukaku, Belgium can rely on a well-stocked attack. Jérémy Doku is brilliant at Manchester City, as is Leandro Trossard at Arsenal. Both players are expected to start at the Euros, but Tedesco also has other options: De Ketelaere, who has bounced back well at Atalanta; Johan Bakayoko, who has been excellent for PSV; and Dodi Lukebakio.

But has Belgium regained its cohesion after its disappointing World Cup in Qatar? After the second match against Morocco, De Bruyne told the Guardian that Belgium's players were "too old" to win the tournament.

As far as Belgium's group is concerned, the Red Devils find themselves in a very manageable group with Ukraine, Slovakia and Romania. Tedesco's men are favourites, but they will have to be careful against three opponents with some excellent players, such as Mudryk, Dobvyk, Lunin and Tsygankov with Ukraine.

But can Belgium win Euro 2024? With a stable and well-balanced squad, the Red Devils arrive at the tournament in good spirits, intent on making amends with their fans. However, there is no denying that Tedesco's squad is not as talented as it was in 2018 or 2020, and some players (Faes, Theate, Onana, Mangala, etc.) are clearly lacking in experience at the highest level.

While every coach dreams of a Kevin de Bruyne - Romelu Lukaku axis and wingers like Doku and Trossard, Belgium's defence still seems too weak for the very highest level. Wout Faes and Arthur Theate have yet to prove their worth, and Timothy Castagne has never provided any real guarantees. As for Jan Verthonghen, although very experienced, at 37 he no longer has the speed to cover the depth.

We can therefore imagine Belgium getting through the group stage, but being eliminated in the quarter-finals by a more experienced and better-performing nation (England, Germany, France, Spain, etc.). However, with these Red Devils, anything is possible, and we hope that KDB and Lukaku will prove us wrong. What do you think? Let us know in the comments!

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