Belgium vs Serbia

King Baudouin Stadium is the venue as Belgium and Serbia go head-to-head in a handsomely-looking international friendly.

Domenico Tedesco couldn’t have hoped for a better start to life at the helm of Belgium, going unbeaten in all eight games in charge (W6, D2) since filling Roberto Martinez’s shoes in January. Tedesco’s outrageous managerial start has inspired ‘De Rode Duivels’ to a third consecutive European Championships qualification with two games to spare. This encounter against Serbia is a final rehearsal ahead of their Group F’s sign-off fixture against Azerbaijan, which they would love to win just to keep morale high within the camp following a dreadful 2022 World Cup exit in Qatar. All signs point in this direction, as the Belgians have only lost once in their last five friendly outings dating back to June 2021, most recently overcoming Germany 3-2 in March.

On the other hand, Serbia could soon join Belgium at next summer’s tournament even without kicking a ball should Lithuania hold Montenegro winless in the wake of their last Group G clash against Bulgaria. Despite the friendly nature of this contest, the ‘Eagles’ won’t take it lightly, especially after blowing hot and cold across their last four Euro 2024 qualifiers (W2, L2). Dragan Stojkovic’s men have been conceding goals at an alarming rate, going six consecutive internationals without a clean sheet. It’s difficult to back the Serbians to register a shutout here, knowing they’ve lost three successive meetings with Belgium since winning the first-ever showdown between the sides in 2006. On the upside, they’ve emerged victorious in their last three exhibition matches, including two without a clean sheet this year.