Belgium Vs France on Sunday 27 September was always going to be a key early marker in Nations League Liga A, Grupo 4, but France arrived in Brussels without Kylian Mbappé after the captain suffered a knee injury against Turkey. Both sides had won their opening matches, which gave the Stade Roi Baudouin meeting an immediate edge.
France began their campaign with a 1-0 win over Turkey, while Belgium opened with a 2-0 away victory over Italy. That meant the two teams came into the second round of fixtures level on early momentum, even if France had to adjust to the absence of their most important attacking player.
Why Mbappé was unavailable
Mbappé picked up a left knee injury during the goal against Turkey, and that ruled him out of the trip to Brussels. For France, it meant this was Zinedine Zidane’s second match in charge without his captain, a situation that naturally changes both the selection picture and the way Les Bleus approach the game.
The absence of Mbappé matters because France are not just losing a forward; they are losing the player around whom so much of their attacking rhythm is built. Against a Belgium side with a new coach in Mark van Bommel following Rudi García’s departure, that made France’s task more complicated even before kick-off.
When and where the match took place
Belgium and France met on the Sunday 27 September at the Stade Roi Baudouin in Brussels. For viewers, the listed kick-off time was 14:45 EE.UU (Este), 12:45 MEX and 20:45 ESP.
The broadcast options listed for viewers in the United States and Mexico included Fox Sports 2, fuboTV, ViX and FOX One, with Sky Sports Mexico, Sky+ and izzi among the options named for Mexico. It was a fixture that mattered both for the standings and for the early tone of the group, because both teams had already shown they could start strongly without needing time to settle.
That is why this meeting carried more than just the usual appeal of Belgium against France. With both teams unbeaten in the group and France missing Mbappé, the game in Brussels became an early test of depth, balance and control.
