Belgium know their opponents for qualifying
The Euro 2024 qualifying draw with the name of Belgium drawn by Gianluca Zambrotta, on October 9, 2022 at the Festhalle in Frankfurt ©BelgaImage
Belgium have been put back into Group F of qualifying for Euro 2024 football in Germany along with Austria, Sweden, Azerbaijan and Estonia in the draw held on Sunday in Frankfurt.
Two more serious adversaries and two more affordable ones
Placed in pot 1, Belgium created a seven groups of five teams for this new qualifying campaign. Respectively the numbers of pots 2 and 3, Austria (FIFA 34) and Sweden (FIFA 25) will be the two main competitors of the Red Devils on the road to Germany. Belgium have not faced the Austrians since qualifying for Euro 2012. After a spectacular split in Brussels (4-4), the Devils won 0-2 in Vienna but failed to qualify for the euro. The last duel against Sweden dates back to the group stage of Euro 2016. In the last match of the group, Belgium, then coached by Marc Wilmots, won 1-0 thanks to a goal from Radja Nainggolan .
Azerbaijan (FIFA 123) and Estonia (FIFA 109) are the two most affordable opponents. In Austria, Belgium have not faced the Azeris since qualifying for Euro 2012 with a 4-1 victory in Belgium and a 1-1 draw in Baku. Estonia was recently in the Belgian qualifying group for the 2022 World Cup. Roberto Martinez’s players won 2-5 in Tallinn and 3-1 in Brussels.
In the other groups, the Netherlands and France will face off in Group B, which also consists of Ireland, Greece and Gibraltar. In Group C, Italy and England will meet again after the Euro final and their double duel in the group stage of the League of Nations. Ukraine, North Macedonia, which had deprived Italy of its ticket for the 2022 World Cup, and Malta complete Group C.
The qualifications for Euro 2024 will be played from March to November 2023. The first two of each group will qualify for the Euro. The last three tickets will be played during the play-offs in March 2024. The final phase will take place from June 14 to July 14, 2024 in Germany.