Mbappé and Hazard make Belgium-France spicier

ÓSCAR BELLOT Special Envoy to Milan

Thursday, 7 October 2021, 08:26

Kylian Mbappé and Eden Hazard were able to meet this summer at Real Madrid. The Chamartín club launched an ordeal against PSG to seize the services of the prodigy of Bondy, but Nasser Al-Khelaïfi did not compromise despite the dizzying offers of Florentino Pérez, leaving the latter compound and without a girlfriend. Thus, at least for the moment, the association between two stars living in opposite realities was frustrated.

The Parisian is called to be, together with the Norwegian Erling Haaland, the great reference of international football this decade; The Belgian, for his part, is enduring a decadent present and does not finish seeing the light at the end of the tunnel in which he entered after his arrival in the Spanish capital, although the injuries seem to have finally given him some truce. While Real Madrid continues to fight to join them next season, the two will meet at Juventus Stadium, the scene of the second semi-final of the Nations League.

France and Belgium come to the meeting with a vindictive spirit, after experiencing bitter disappointments in the Eurocup. The ‘bleus’ crashed in the second round against Switzerland, which beat them in a penalty shoot-out that had Mbappé as the villain, author of the decisive failure from eleven meters that gave the pass to the Swiss team. The ‘red devils’ climbed one more step but Italy, ultimately champions, held back their advance in the quarterfinals. Eden Hazard could not even be on the bench that day because of a puncture in the back of his right thigh that extinguished his hope of returning to shine in a great tournament.

Yes he had done it in the World Cup in Russia, where he won the Silver Ball, but France prevented his team from taking more loot by taking it down in the semifinals to be crowned later in the Muscovite Luzhniki. “I would rather lose with this Belgium than win with this France,” said the now ‘7’ of Real Madrid, adding more salt to the multiple open wounds between the neighbors.

That was the championship in which Belgium’s golden generation came closest to glory. Despite being full of stars, it has always missed a step at the right time. Although it does not have the entity of a World Cup or a European Championship, the League of Nations could be its great occasion.

For this he hopes to have a good version of Eden Hazard, who has started the course showing some green shoots, although without the necessary continuity for him to finish exorcising all his demons. As it is, his main threat continues to be Romelu Lukaku. “In the Nations League we have to do really well, to reach the top in the next World Cup,” the Chelsea striker said in a recent interview with UEFA.

Appointment appointed

Boycotting that objective is the purpose of France, which comes in the midst of the earthquake generated by the recent statements by Mbappé, in which the forward explains his version of the war for his services, and those of Florentino Pérez, in which the president Blanco makes it clear that he will go all out to recruit him in January. Immersed in that runrún, the PSG footballer will reach fifty caps against Belgium at 22 years of age. The record with France is held by Lilian Thuram, who added 142. If injuries respect him, he is called to break that and many other barriers.

The clash against the ‘red devils’ will also serve for Mbappé to continue deepening his connection with Benzema and will be a new test for Griezmann, double-scorer last September against Finland in the last match played by the French team before this one’ final four ‘of the League of Nations. The Atlético attacker looked like a hitch in a 3-4-1-2 system that everything indicates that Deschamps will repeat at Juventus Stadium.