5 Belgium players who underperformed against France | UEFA Nations League semi-final

#3 Axel Witsel

Belgium v France – UEFA Nations League 2021 Semi-final

For the most part, Belgium were in complete control of the second UEFA Nations League semi-final on Thursday night. They had an emphatic 2-0 lead in the first half and looked compact enough to keep France’s seemingly toothless attack at bay.

But the game turned on its head in the second half and fingers ought to be pointed at Belgium’s defensive midfielder Axel Witsel. No, he was not completely responsible for all three goals, but his lack of commitment stuck out like a sore thumb.

The Borussia Dortmund man was one of the four defenders Benzema beat to score France’s opener. Witsel’s half-hearted sweeps to clear the ball away from Benzema’s feet was embarrassing, to say the least, and he failed to make amends afterwards.

Witsel was arguably the worst midfielder in the second semi-final of the UEFA Nations League and did nothing to justify his place in the team.

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#2 Eden Hazard

Belgium v France – UEFA Nations League 2021 Semi-final

While Karim Benzema led France by example, Belgium captain Eden Hazard endured yet another disappointing outing. In the UEFA Nations League semi-final, the Real Madrid winger was given a free role, but he rarely popped up in the right places.

Due to his niggling injuries, Hazard has been reluctant to take on defenders and that was evident in the UEFA Nations League semi-final against France.

He picked up the ball in promising areas once or twice, but was content with squaring the ball away to his more effective team-mates. Hazard did manage to get into the box once, but Jules Kounde’s excellent clearance denied him the opportunity to get on the scoresheet.

To top it off, he pulled up in the 75th minute and had to leave the pitch due to an injury, with Leandro Trossard replacing him. The extent of the Real Madrid star's injury is yet to be assessed.

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#1 Thibaut Courtois

Belgium v France – UEFA Nations League 2021 Semi-final

Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has been nothing short of a messiah for his club over the last couple of seasons. He has helped Los Blancos win innumerable matches, producing one world class save after another. For Belgium, however, he looked uncharacteristically off-colour on Thursday night.

Courtois was rarely tested in the first half of the second UEFA Nations League semi-final. The going got a little tougher in the second 45 as France started pressing higher up the pitch. Despite sensing impending doom, Courtois failed to reorganize the back-line, and paid the price.

Goals from Karim Benzema and Kylian Mbappe were pretty much unsavable, but Courtois would have been disappointed with Theo Hernadez’s winner. Despite tracking his strike all the way, the Belgian shotstopper could not position himself well enough to parry it away.

The goal pretty much sealed the game for France, as Belgium did not have enough in the tank to push the game into extra time.

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