France vs Belgium Women's EURO preview: Where to watch, kick-off time, starting line-ups

France meet Belgium at New York Stadium in UEFA Women's EURO 2022 Group D on Thursday 14 July.

Where to watch France vs Belgium on TV

Fans can find their local UEFA Women's EURO 2022 broadcast partner(s) here.

What do you need to know?

France laid down a real marker with a blistering first-half performance against Italy on Sunday, Grace Geyoro scoring a hat-trick before the break in a 5-1 win. They are strong favourites to add another three points in Rotherham on Thursday to seal a quarter-final spot with a game to spare. Belgium were second best in their opener against Iceland but showed their mettle by battling back to earn a 1-1 draw – they will need a lot more where that came from.

Starting line-ups

France: Peyraud-Magnin; Périsset, Renard, Mbock Bathy, Karchaoui; Geyoro, Bilbault, Mateo; Diani, Katoto, Cascarino

Belgium: Evrard; Vangheluwe, Kees, De Neve, Philtjens; Vanhaevermaet, De Caigny, Biesmans; Dhont, Wullaert, Cayman
Misses next match if booked: Davina Philtjens, Justine Vanhaevermaet

Reporters' views

Vanessa Tomaszewski, France reporter

It was almost a perfect start for France against Italy: straight into the groove. How do you follow that up? With a win on Bastille Day, of course. The Marseillaise will be belted out a few decibels higher and Belgium may end the evening in a bit of a daze, with their ears ringing in every sense – they were underwhelming against Iceland. Les Bleues will be confident of advancing with a game to spare.

Alyssa Saliou, Belgium reporter

France are the powerhouses of Group D, as they proved with their first-half dismantling of Italy. Belgium will have to play with a lot of focus, confidence and energy, and there's no room for errors or hesitation. The defence will really have to be at the top of their game given the threat France carry going forward. Lose sight of them – even for a moment – and it could be game over.

Form guide

France
Last six games: WWWWWW (most recent first)
Last match: France 5-1 Italy, 10/07
Women's EURO 2017: quarter-finals (L 1-0 vs England)

Belgium
Last six games: DWLWLW (most recent first)
Last match: Belgium 1-1 Iceland, 10/07
Women's EURO 2017: third in Group A (W1 D0 L2)

View from the camps

Corinne Diacre, France coach: "We are ready for everything. We have worked on several things. We've been working on this for a while because we came up against teams like Belgium in the 2023 World Cup qualifiers. We are like we were on the eve of the first match: focused, determined. After the Italy game, I didn't need to talk a lot. The girls know what they have to do. Honestly, I didn't need to say anything."

Ives Serneels, Belgium coach: "We will have to make the most of the few chances that we get [against France]. We think we can hurt them in some situations, but we will have to defend as a block against this France side. Will we play with an extra defender? That's an option, but if we defend too deep we're going to get completely trapped in front of our own goal and I also want my team to offer something in attack as well. Can we cause an upset? We have to believe that."