Emke Courtois proposes the European Championship draw: France takes a step or two, but Italy and Iceland are close | red flame

It is only the second time that Red Flames (FIFA-19) have participated. In 2017, they were eliminated from the group stage. Now the second round (quarter-finals) is the ambition. Courtois likes it: “I think you could at least be second in the group.” Two of the four groups of 4 countries are advancing.

France He is number 5 in the world. “France is the best team in the group. It is a country with a lot of good players, young talents, but also old ones like Renard and Lou Sommer. The only thing you can say is that they often end up in the final stage of a major tournament, but never in the final.” “.

“What could be a small addition is that France has a lot of players from Lyon and Red Flame playing Janis Cayman there. She can pass on additional information to the coach.”

“In principle, France is unattainable, but strange things have happened often in football. 5 years ago Belgium beat Norway and lost twice. With 1-0 against very good Denmark and with 1-2 against Holland, the European champions in later. . “

Italy He is number 14 in the world. “Belgium should focus on beating Italy and Iceland. I remember a friendly match I played against Italy. We won it relatively easily, but the next year Italy was a very good new team. We saw it in the previous World Cup qualifiers: Belgium won once I lost once 2-1, and in the end, Italy went on to win the World Cup as the group leader.”

Iceland Finally number 16 in the world. This country came from Tier 4, Belgium was Tier 3. “But make no mistake: Iceland is higher in the FIFA rankings. This is the fourth time that Iceland have participated in the European Championship. So they have more experience than Belgium. But the level is near the flames. red”.

“On paper, France is taking one or two steps higher, but Italy and Iceland should succeed. Although Italy remains a constant challenge.”

And Courtois is involved in the other groups: “In Group A, England and Norway, in Group B, Germany and Spain, and in Group C, Holland and Sweden. Those are the countries that have already put them second in that group. So I am very happy that with Italy and Iceland we will meet. The countries that ranked second in their group in the preliminary round. Belgium qualified as the group winner.

Courtois doesn’t suppose bottom-placed Belgium has been underestimated: “This may have been the case in the past, because there were few shots. Meanwhile, women’s football is far enough away that teams know exactly the strengths and weaknesses of the Red team. Flames, among other things, you can’t count on.”

Courtois is already looking forward to the European Championship and knows the flames too: “If you could go to England as a player, the cradle of football, and play in beautiful accommodations. There would undoubtedly be a lot of fans.”

“During the draw, there were some words that came up quite often: ‘We want to beat records in different ways, including the number of spectators. “I often also heard ‘inclusive’ and ‘legacy (legacy).’ They want to promote women’s football. I think there will be a lot of atmosphere.”

“You want to test that as a player, although you also want to get off the field with a good result.”