Overall, the Belgians reacted positively to the news that their team will play against Ukraine. Local fans are convinced that Serhiy Rebrov’s team is the weakest opponent of all possible ones (among possible opponents were also Turkey, Greece, and Austria), but most of them emphasize that under Tedesco’s leadership the team has significantly degraded (but the federation cannot fire him since they are in a difficult financial situation). Moreover, a number of leaders refuse to play for the national team, or have poor relationships with the coaching staff. Therefore, they are more worried not about the strength of the opponent, but about the fact that their national team is currently so weak that it could lose to anyone. Including Ukraine. Furthermore, many still remember the match between our teams at Euro-2024, in which Belgium refused to play for a win and even wasted time, resulting in them finishing second and facing the most difficult opponent in the playoffs — France. That match ended in a scandal, as the fans booed the team, and Kevin De Bruyne gathered the players and demanded that they not approach the stands after the game.
Interestingly, Tedesco was criticized for being late to the draw of the Nations League, and they saw this as a bad sign for Belgium. They probably do not know that Serhiy Rebrov did not arrive at the draw at all, as Vicente Gomez was sitting instead of Rebrov during the broadcast on the UEFA website (notably, this is not the first time that Rebrov has missed the national team’s draw; apparently, he has more important matters).
Goevarts: Will the players who refused to join the team for the game against Israel return for the match against Ukraine? Including Lukaku. They are all ready to play for their clubs over the weekend. There is a feeling that they do not want to play for the national team while Tedesco is in charge.
Landeghem: Against any team, we will have problems with this coach. Even against Ukraine, we will suffer. We might beat the Ukrainians. But it can already be said that these will be very boring matches, where we will play to destroy rather than create.
Arren: We still remember the match against Ukraine at Euro-2024. It was horrible. Even disgusting. The Ukrainians did not really want to win, hoping for a victory in a parallel match, while we were generally wasting time and playing for a draw to finish second. I fear we are in for a similar “spectacle” again, one that will make our eyes bleed.
Geenen: Let’s organize a fundraising campaign for Tedesco’s dismissal. If we manage to raise the money by March, we will beat the Ukrainians without problem. If this coaching staff remains until spring, various outcomes are possible. I do not rule out that we might even lose.
Yoeri: Attention, black humor. We should be grateful to all those who give weapons to Ukraine and for the fact that the war is still ongoing in this country, as it gives us hope for final victory.
Hayen: I agree with all the comments on this topic. Let us congratulate Ukraine in advance on their victory. Especially if they play against us as they did at Euro-2024. The main thing is that Tedesco is fired afterward. We know him. He will then say that it’s also good to play in League B.
Rudi: We are waiting for another amazing scheme from Tedesco: 9-1, where nine is the number of defenders. We waste time in both matches to try to win in a penalty shootout. Although that is even risky. Who knows, maybe the Ukrainians are better at penalties.
Eggers: I will desperately root for the Ukrainian national team in this showdown. Nobody cares about this Nations League anyway. Nobody is interested. However, Tedesco will definitely be fired if he loses to such a weak team and gets relegated to League B. There are no alternatives here. Go ahead, Ukraine, we are with you!
Keymeulen: Ukraine is the best option of all possible ones. Firstly, they are not playing at home, but in Poland, so they do not have the same support they would have in Kyiv. Secondly, they also have a weak coaching staff, as they almost got relegated to League C. Therefore, I believe we can defeat the Ukrainians, but I don't think the matches will be spectacular.
Devos: Tedesco was late to the Nations League draw. It’s a pity he even came. He should have gotten lost somewhere in the woods and stayed there. Even without a coach, our national team will play better than with Tedesco.
Rijmenant: The most terrible thing is that Tedesco will still be fired, but they will do it in March, after the matches with the Ukrainians, which we will lose. He will not resign himself. Why would he do that, if he is awaiting a huge severance package upon dismissal? Tedesco will benefit in any case, while the Belgian national team will be at a loss. So why prolong it if everyone knows how this story will end?
Vilenne: All our problems are the Ukrainians’ fault! If their player had scored that goal in the final seconds of the match at Euro-2024, Belgium would have finished last in the group, we would have been eliminated from the tournament, and Tedesco would have been fired. Instead, Belgium faced France, and the federation leadership decided that losing to the French was not shameful, so Tedesco was retained. Now the Ukrainians need to do what they didn’t do in the summer — help us get rid of Tedesco.
Bru: Given the “interest” of our top players in this obscure tournament, Ukraine will be the favorite in this contest. I am confident that a similar situation will repeat itself in March as it was before the game with Israel. One will have a flu, another’s wife will fall ill, the third will have depression, and so on. With a good coach, we would have gone through Ukraine even without top players, but with Tedesco, worse is to be expected.
Evrard: People criticize Tedesco and that is fair. But everyone forgets that this is no longer a golden generation. Courtois does not play for the national team, De Bruyne is no longer the player he used to be. Just like Lukaku. The defense is a mess altogether. There’s no sense in talking about the level of opponents if we ourselves are not already a top-level team.
Deckmijn: Oh Tedesco. Although he was late to the draw, he still got lucky again to face the weakest team. If he cannot get past Ukraine, then we definitely need to say goodbye to him.
Heggerick: On paper, this is the weakest opponent of all possible ones. But everyone thought the same at Euro-2024. And then there was that humiliation in the match against the Ukrainians, when we desperately wasted time for a draw, knowing we would end up facing France. I hope this time we will not be afraid to play against the Ukrainians.
Leynen: League B, we are coming for you! Let the Ukrainians disgrace themselves and lose to everyone in a row rather than us. I am confident that in League B our national team will be able to beat someone.
Vanclee: Matches against Ukraine in the Nations League playoffs are good news for Tedesco. This will be a defeat that can be disguised as “solidarity” with the Ukrainians.
Minnebo: If Ukrainian players are not called to the front, then we have no chance at all. We have the worst coach in the world. We have stars who are looking for reasons not to play for the national team. We have officials in the federation who are driving the team into the abyss.
Etienne: The match at Euro-2024 showed that we have no chances against Ukraine. The only hope is that the Ukrainian footballers will not score from five meters, as they did in the summer. Because Tedesco will again play cowardly football, and the Ukrainians can take advantage of it.
Lafertin: The Ukrainian national team and Tedesco will play against Belgium. With such arrangements, it will be difficult for us, but I believe our national team will cope. And in the meantime, we have to at least raise the necessary amount for Tedesco’s severance by summer so we can have a chance to qualify for the World Cup.
Dmytro Malyanov
