Belgium’s most talented team ever will have their last, best hope to win a major international tournament at EURO 2020. The country’s golden generation are all in their primes or at the tail end of their prime years, so it’s essentially now or never for the small country of less than 12 million people. The Red Devils will begin their quest to win their first European Championship this weekend when they take on Russia in Saint Petersburg.
Don't miss a moment of EURO 2020. This match will be held at Gazprom Arena in Saint Petersburg, Russia at 3 p.m. ET. Catch every moment of the match live on ABC.
UEFA EURO 2020 Odds at BookMaker.eu
Belgium -145
Russia +431
Draw +285
Over/Under 2.5
Odds Analysis
There is an abundance of talent on Belgium. This team stunned Brazil in the quarterfinals at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, and the Red Devils finished that tournament in third place after easily dispatching of England in the consolation match.
However, their last trip to the Euros did not go over well. Belgium was considered one of the favorites (especially after receiving a dream draw in the knockout rounds), but they were stunned by Wales in the quarterfinals.
The two most talented players on Belgium are captain Eden Hazard and vice-captain Kevin De Bruyne. Hazard has 32 goals in 107 appearances for the national team, but he has had an injury plagued 2020-21 season. He missed 31 matches due to injury throughout Real Madrid’s various competitions, and he didn’t start either of Belgium’s two warm-up games prior to the start of this tournament.
De Bruyne will probably not be available for this game. Belgium’s best playmaker in the midfield underwent minor surgery after sustaining fractures around his eye socket in the Champions League Final. Head coach Roberto Martinez has stated that De Bruyne will likely be available for the rest of the Group Stage matches though.
That will limit the ceiling of this team against Russia. De Bruyne and Hazard are both outstanding playmakers, and Belgium doesn’t have another midfielder on that level. However, this team does have some outstanding goal scorers up top led by Romelu Lukaku.
Lukaku has netted 60 goals in 93 appearances with the national team. He is coming off back-to-back solid years with Inter Milan where he netted 47 goals in 72 matches for his club, and he proved that he could distribute this season with 11 assists.
Additionally, Christian Benteke, Dries Mertens, and Michy Batshuayi have all had some success on the national team. Perhaps no team is better equipped to pour in goals like Belgium, but they will be content with a win on Saturday.
Their opponents in this match are something of an unknown. Although Russia shined at their World Cup in 2018, making it to the quarterfinals, this year’s squad is a lot different than that one. Over half of the roster has been turned over, and long-time goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev has retired from international play.
The main playmakers for Russia will be Denis Cheryshev and Aleksandr Golovin. Cheryshev and Golovin both shined three years ago, but even more pressure will be on them this time. Captain Artem Dzyuba will be asked to provide the goals, and he has 29 goals in 52 appearances with the national team.
Matchup to Watch
Can Russia’s back line hold up to Belgium’s attack? While Russia doesn’t have a great back line, they may be able to hold their own here. They will certainly play more of a defensive game in order to pick up a result with an eye on making it to the knockout rounds.
Free EURO 2020 Betting Pick
The absence of De Bruyne combined with Hazard not being at 100% will stymie Belgium’s menacing attack. Belgium couldn’t score more than a goal against either Greece or Croatia in their tune-ups for this tournament, and we will see them frustrated once again.
EURO 2020 Odds: Russia 1, Belgium 1
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