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Match time and venue: June 18 at 16:00, at the "Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux" stadium. The match will be broadcasted live on LRT television.
Tournament situation: In the first matches, Ireland played a draw against Sweden, while the Belgians lost 0-2 to the group leaders Italy. If Ireland can still afford to lose, to keep everything in their hands, Belgium can no longer afford to lose this match.
Team news: Apart from Jonathan Walters, who will not play due to an Achilles injury, there are no other injured players in the Irish team. The team looked good in the match against Sweden, so most likely there will be only one change in the team due to Walters' injury. It was reported that Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne were recovering from minor injuries for the Belgian team, but they should be ready for today's match. However, changes in the attacking line are expected, and Dries Mertens is likely to be thrown into the field from the first moments. It is also unclear how the coach will handle Thibaut Courtois - the "Chelsea" representative publicly criticized Marco Wilmots' chosen tactics, and for this reason, he may give way to Simon Mignolet.
Coaches comment: Marc Wilmots (Belgium): "I expect tough matches. The pressure will be on us because we need a win. However, we have to play patiently and cannot give them much space. They are very dangerous during counterattacks, so we need to pay attention to that. In my football years, I learned that when you make decisions too quickly, you often leave a lot of space behind. When you leave that free space, you can create problems. These will be tough matches for us, but in this European Championship, no team has had easy matches." Martin O'Neill (Ireland): "Looking at the individual player skills, the Belgian team is as talented as anyone, so we face a tough match. However, these are the matches we come in with hope for. Against Sweden, we played a strong match and should have won, sadly we didn't. We have to show the same attitude, dedication, and play, and hope to cause problems for the Belgians. Yes, as everything stands now, we hope to score four points. I think that many points would be enough to advance to the next stage. So we'll have two attempts for that. We have to give everything we have in the upcoming two matches and be sure that we won't be flying back regretting something we didn't do."
Players to watch: Belgium: Eden Hazard Hazard still hasn't scored a goal in either the European or World Championship final stages, and to prove that he deserves to be included in the list of the best footballers on the planet, he cannot hide behind his team mates in this championship. Hazard was blank in the first match, and there were talks about his minor injury, but the Belgian looked healthy in the last training sessions and ready for today's match. The Belgian team, still not finding its own game, could hardly expect a great performance from their star at a better moment. Ireland: Shane Long The main weapon of the Ireland team in this match will be playing on counterattacks. The most dangerous in their team during these will be Shane Long, who has already proven in the ranks of Southampton that he can play high-level football. His ability to successfully escape into a quick attack should be one of the main weapons of Ireland against the Belgian defense.
Predicted lineups: Belgium: Courtois; Ciman, Alderweireld, Vermaelen, Vertonghen; Witsel, Naingolan; Hazard, De Bruyne, Mertens; Lukaku. Ireland: Randolph; Coleman, O'Shea, Clark, Brady; Hendrick, Whelan, McCarthy, McClean, Hoolahan; Long.
What the specialists predict: Reymundas Tomayo ("Yibada"): "Despite losing the first match, Belgium is still the favorite to win against Ireland, and no one expects any other result from them. I think that Belgians will bounce back and return to the path of victories. Belgium 2 - 0 Ireland." Paul Merson ("Sky Sports"): "The Belgian team was the one I didn't predict to succeed in the European Championship. Everyone was talking about how good they are, but I can't imagine them winning this tournament. They are not a team. They are a bunch of individually good players who run into the field. Meanwhile, the Irish have an excellent atmosphere in the team. They played as a team and tried to beat Sweden, and looked great. I think they can take a point from the Belgians. Belgium 1 - 1 Ireland." Jason Le Miere ("IB Times"): "Against Italy, the Belgians showed that they have not improved at all since the last World Championship - they are still a talented team playing without a plan. With good players, they can still cause problems for their opponents, as they showed at the end of the first match. However, Ireland is a serious challenge for them. Martin O'Neill's pupils will try to do what Wales did in the qualifying round. And although they will miss Walters, I think they will score on the counterattacks and beat the opponents, with the goal being scored by the same player who punished the Germans - Shane Long. Belgium 0 - 1 Ireland."
Interesting facts: Belgium has not lost to the Irish national team in these six consecutive matches (2 wins, 4 draws). However, the last matches of these teams were played back in 1997, and during that time the Belgians were superior; The last victory against today's opponents, the Irish won was in 1966, in a friendly match; These will be the first head-to-head matches of these teams in the final stage of the championship; The Irish national team has not yet won against the Belgians in official matches (5 draws, 2 losses). They have also kept their goal "dry" only once over these matches; Robbie Keane has scored eleven goals in the last thirteen matches in the starting Irish lineup; Belgium has lost six out of the last eight matches in the European Championships, and the last three failures were recorded with identical results - 0-2; Belgium has already conceded at least one goal in eight consecutive matches - the longest such streak in the last 30 years; Ireland has never progressed to the group stage of the European Championships; Eden Hazard has not yet scored for the national team in the final stages - all 458 minutes of the World and European Championship finals have been "dry" for him; Out of the 18 shots taken in the first match, only five Belgians were in the opponents' penalty area; The last goal Belgians scored in the European Championship was by Emile Mpenza in 2000, in a match against Sweden.
