Paris (AFP)
Belgium and the Netherlands can already qualify for the round of 16 of the Euro if they win their second group game on Thursday respectively against Denmark, who now play for Christian Eriksen, and Austria.
Scheduled to win on July 11 at Wembley in the final of the tournament, Belgium managed to enter the Euro by outclassing Russia 3-0 in Saint Petersburg.
Solid, realistic, collective, despite the absence of their playing master Kevin De Bruyne, who has since resumed training and should be on the scoresheet on Thursday, the Red Devils have made short work of a limited Russian team, which nevertheless benefited from the support of its public.
Romelu Lukaku's double made it possible to consolidate the offensive certainties of the Belgians, still reassured by the entry into play of their star midfielder Eden Hazard, who returned to the field at the best time after a 2020-2021 season at Real Madrid ruined by injuries .
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The world number 1 team in the Fifa rankings is the big favorite against Denmark, even if it will face the latter on its lawn in Copenhagen (6:00 p.m.).
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Before thinking about football, the Danes must indeed recover from the psychological shock suffered on Saturday against Finland, when their midfielder Christian Eriksen collapsed in the middle of a match, victim of cardiac arrest.
While the worst was feared, the Inter Milan player was quickly saved by heart massage - he said on Tuesday to be "fine".
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But his teammates, quite logically their heads elsewhere after the resumption of the meeting, sank 1-0 against the Finns.
Bouncing back against Belgium promises to be difficult.
The Netherlands, on the other hand, almost let victory slip away in their opener on Saturday, when the catchy Ukrainians came back two goals behind to equalize ten minutes from the end of regulation time.
But the "Oranje" were able to regain the advantage of a very nice goal from Denzel Dumfries' header, winning 3-2 a game they ultimately largely dominated.
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Impressive in their first match, the Dutch are big favorites against the Austrians, which they will also receive at home in the Johan-Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam on Thursday (9 p.m.).
Austria will try to beat the odds to secure a second victory in the tournament, after their 3-1 victory on Sunday over North Macedonia.
This will be played against Ukraine at 3:00 p.m. in Bucharest for the controversial jersey teams match.
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The "Zhovto-Blakytni" (Yellow and Blue) first met the wrath of Russia, in particular for slogans qualified as "nationalist" by Moscow present on their tunics, before reaching an agreement with UEFA there is A few days.
On Tuesday, it was North Macedonia's turn to be criticized for its jersey, which bears the initials FFM (Macedonian Football Federation), angering Greece.
Athens and Skopje have experienced nearly three decades of quarrel over the name "Macedonia" claimed by the former Yugoslav territory.
Athens refused to allow its neighbor to be called Macedonia only, on the grounds that one of its provinces bears the same name.
An agreement on the subject was finally signed by the two countries in June 2018.
Group B
1st day:
Belgium - Russia 3 - 0
Denmark - Finland 0 - 1
2nd day:
Finland - Russia (played Wednesday)
Thursday in Copenhagen: Denmark - Belgium (6 p.m.)
3rd day:
Monday, in Saint Petersburg: Finland - Belgium (9:00 p.m.)
Monday, in Copenhagen: Russia - Denmark (9 p.m.)
Group C
1st day:
Austria - North Macedonia 3 - 1
Netherlands - Ukraine 3 - 2
2nd day:
Thursday, Bucharest: Ukraine - North Macedonia (3:00 p.m.)
Thursday, in Amsterdam: Netherlands - Austria (9:00 p.m.)
3rd day:
Monday, in Amsterdam: North Macedonia - Netherlands (6 p.m.)
Monday, Bucharest: Ukraine - Austria (6:00 p.m.)
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