France vs Belgium: UEFA Nations League – Olise, De Bruyne, teams and format

EXPLAINERFrance vs Belgium: UEFA Nations League – Olise, De Bruyne, teams and formatOnly one point separates Group A1 leaders France and second-placed Belgium before Monday’s clash.Who: France vs Belgium What: UEFA Nations League 2026-2027, Group A1 match Where: France" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="50025" data-entity-type="location">Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France When: Monday at 8:45pm (18:45 GMT) How to follow: Al Jazeera Sport will bring you all the build-up and live updates from 15:45 GMT.Two-time world champions France host Belgium in the last of four Nations League games played over this extended international window.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Israel face spitting allegation as Ireland boss ‘delighted’ games are overlist 2 of 4Ireland refuse handshake with Israel and don armbands in Nations League tielist 3 of 4Cristiano Ronaldo can return to Portugal team if he wants, says Jesuslist 4 of 4‘Everyone knew’: Canada boss Marsch wants Man City relegated for breachesend of listMonday’s clash in Saint-Denis pits the top two teams in A1 against each other with France looking to complete the double in this league phase after their initial victory in Brussels in late September.France and Belgium both enter this match with their creative stars in red-hot form. Michael Olise scored a goal in back-to-back matches while Kevin De Bruyne’s double steered Belgium to victory last time out.However, Belgium will have to do without De Bruyne for the Les Bleus test with the midfield sensation suspended alongside their captain, Youri Tielemans.Here’s all you need to know about France vs Belgium:What is the UEFA Nations League?The UEFA Nations League was founded in 2018 to reduce the number of friendlies and give nations competitive matches against equally ranked teams.In this competition, countries from across Europe participate in a league structure that features promotion and relegation.How does the UEFA Nations League work?The teams compete across four divisions, facing every other team in their group twice: once at home and once away. The league phase ends in November.In the top-most league, League A, the top two teams from each group go through to the quarterfinals, which will take place in March.