France and Belgium meet again one week after France’s 1-0 win in Brussels. The hosts now lead the group by one point after drawing 1-1 with Italy, while Belgium arrive after a 3-0 victory over Turkey.
On October 6 at 00:15 IST, “France” will face “Belgium” at “Stade de France”. The fixture is officially played on October 5 at 20:45 local French time, with the calendar date changing after conversion to Indian time.
After three matches, France lead the group with seven points, followed by Belgium on six, Italy on four and Turkey on zero. A Belgian win would take them above France and into first place.
The October 2 fixtures have changed the team news. France will be without the suspended Dayot Upamecano, while Belgium must replace both Kevin De Bruyne and Youri Tielemans through suspension.
Teams Current Form
“France” form
France remain unbeaten under Zinédine Zidane in the Nations League, but the 1-1 draw with Italy on October 2 ended their perfect start.
They first defeated “Turkey” 1-0 away, with Kylian Mbappé scoring the winner before suffering a knee injury. Three days later, a heavily rotated French side won 1-0 in Belgium through a late Michael Olise goal.
Zidane made six changes for the Italy match. Mike Maignan, Pierre Kalulu, Jérémy Jacquet, Lucas Da Cunha and Désiré Doué were the five players retained from the starting XI in Belgium.
The World Cup defeats to Spain and England still weigh on France’s recent form, despite their unbeaten start to the Nations League.
Michael Olise opened the scoring against Italy in the 55th minute from a rehearsed free-kick involving Rayan Cherki. Alessandro Bastoni equalised in the 68th minute after an error by Lucas Da Cunha, ending France’s run of clean sheets. Upamecano received a second yellow card in the 85th minute.
“Belgium” form
Belgium began the Nations League with an impressive 2-0 away victory over “Italy”.
Mark van Bommel’s team then lost 1-0 at home to France after conceding a late goal. The match remained balanced for long stretches, but Belgium could not find the finishing touch against a rotated French defence.
Their wider recent form remains respectable. Belgium reached the World Cup quarter-finals after beating “Senegal” and the “United States”, before losing 2-1 against eventual champions “Spain”.
Belgium responded with a 3-0 win over Turkey on October 2. De Bruyne scored twice and substitute Romelu Lukaku added the third. However, De Bruyne and captain Youri Tielemans both collected bookings that rule them out of the return match against France.
Belgium have scored five goals and conceded one across their first three Nations League matches. Losing De Bruyne and Tielemans together leaves Van Bommel with two midfield positions to fill.
Probable Lineups
“France” lineup
4-3-3: Mike Maignan, Pierre Kalulu, Jérémy Jacquet, Maxence Lacroix, Adrien Truffert, Rayan Cherki, Lucas Da Cunha, Adrien Rabiot, Michael Olise, Ousmane Dembélé, Désiré Doué.
Upamecano is suspended. Lacroix is our projected replacement after starting the previous meeting with Belgium and coming on against Italy. That selection is a forecast, not a confirmed team announcement. The other ten starters from the Italy match are retained.
“Belgium” lineup
4-3-3: Senne Lammens, Timothy Castagne, Nathan Ngoy, Brandon Mechele, Maxim De Cuyper, Hans Vanaken, Romeo Lavia, Nicolas Raskin, Dodi Lukebakio, Charles De Ketelaere, Mika Godts.
De Bruyne and Tielemans are suspended. Lavia and Raskin are our projected replacements, with Vanaken retained in midfield. Both were on the bench against Turkey, and Lavia came on in the second half. These are predicted selections, not confirmed starters. The other nine players from the Turkey XI are retained.
Both probable XIs use the latest completed official matches as their baseline and change only the players confirmed suspended for this fixture.
Who will not play
For “France”, Kylian Mbappé is unavailable after leaving the national-team camp with a knee injury sustained against Turkey.
Ibrahima Konaté and Warren Zaïre-Emery were initially called up for this international window but withdrew before the opening Nations League matches.
Dayot Upamecano is also unavailable after his red card against Italy. He has left the France camp and returned to Bayern Munich, and his suspension requires a change from the latest starting XI.
For “Belgium”, Thibaut Courtois opted out of the current Nations League window.
Jérémy Doku is unavailable through injury, while Amadou Onana remains sidelined with a knee problem.
Leandro Trossard returned as a substitute against Turkey, so his earlier absence is no longer a reason to list him as a fitness concern. Diego Moreira served his one-match suspension against Turkey and is eligible to return.
Kevin De Bruyne and Youri Tielemans are both suspended after bookings in successive matches. Both started against Turkey and must be replaced in the probable XI for France.
The most accurate information on the final starting lineups will be available immediately before the meeting.
Statistics for the Last 5 Matches
“France”
02.10.26, UEFA Nations League: France 1-1 Italy
28.09.26, UEFA Nations League: Belgium 0-1 France
25.09.26, UEFA Nations League: Turkey 0-1 France
18.07.26, FIFA World Cup, Third-place match: France 4-6 England
14.07.26, FIFA World Cup, Semi-final: France 0-2 Spain
In the last five official matches, “France” have 2 wins, 1 draw and 2 defeats. The team scored 7 goals and conceded 9.
“Belgium”
02.10.26, UEFA Nations League: Belgium 3-0 Turkey
28.09.26, UEFA Nations League: Belgium 0-1 France
25.09.26, UEFA Nations League: Italy 0-2 Belgium
10.07.26, FIFA World Cup, Quarter-final: Spain 2-1 Belgium
06.07.26, FIFA World Cup, Round of 16: United States 1-4 Belgium
In the last five official matches, “Belgium” have 3 wins and 2 defeats. The team scored 10 goals and conceded 4.
Head-to-Head Statistics
28.09.26, UEFA Nations League: Belgium 0-1 France
14.10.24, UEFA Nations League: Belgium 1-2 France
09.09.24, UEFA Nations League: France 2-0 Belgium
01.07.24, UEFA EURO: France 1-0 Belgium
07.10.21, UEFA Nations League: Belgium 2-3 France
In the last five official head-to-head matches, “France” have 5 wins. Belgium have no wins or draws in this sequence. France scored 9 goals and Belgium scored 3.
Main prediction for the “France” - “Belgium” game
France – Belgium: forecast on event 5 October 2026
France Win
France have won each of the last five official meetings with Belgium, including the first Nations League clash of this campaign only seven days before the return fixture.
France have conceded once in three Nations League matches. The draw with Italy and Upamecano’s suspension weaken the defensive case, but Belgium’s simultaneous loss of De Bruyne and Tielemans strengthens the case for a home win.
Belgium can still threaten in transition, but they will have to do so without De Bruyne’s passing and finishing. Losing Tielemans as well makes it harder to build on the win over Turkey.
Home advantage at Stade de France strengthens the case for the hosts.
For
Additional predictions
France – Belgium: forecast on event 5 October 2026
Total Under 3.5 Goals
Four of the last five official meetings produced three goals or fewer.
France’s three Nations League results are 1-0, 1-0 and 1-1, all below 2.5 total goals. Belgium’s results are 2-0, 0-1 and 3-0, with five goals scored and one conceded. All six matches finished under 3.5 goals.
Mbappé’s absence limits France’s attacking options, while the suspensions of De Bruyne and Tielemans reduce Belgium’s creativity in midfield. These absences support the under 3.5 selection, although Upamecano’s suspension is a risk to France’s defensive stability.
The matchup therefore has a strong tactical profile for another game decided by a relatively narrow margin.
