In a public statement, PSV confirmed that the French police had based their decision on previous incidents with the Dutch fanbase such as last season when the club travelled to face RC Lens in the Champions League group stages. PSV also noted that the police informed them that some internal security matters contributed to their final outcome. 

PSV stated, “PSV regrets not only the decision of the French authorities but also the timing of it. All preparations had already been made and a lot of costs had been incurred. Moreover, Peter Bosz’s selection counted on the support of the loyal supporters.”

This is not the first time that continental fans have not been able to attend their club’s fixtures in France. Last season, Sevilla supporters were banned from travelling to Lens. 

Chance at redemption for PSG

The two teams will play each other in a week’s time on the 22nd of October. PSG will be looking to bounce back from their first defeat of the season which came in the previous round of the competition when they lost 2-0 to Arsenal. 

GFFN | Nick Hartland

Despite not being able to watch the game, Bordeaux supporters came to the stadium to cheer on their team as they arrived for the match. The fanbase could be heard throughout the game as they chanted and set off smoke bombs creating an atmosphere that seeped into the 5,000-seater stadium.

After the game, Bordeaux manager Bruno Irles was quick to applaud the fans. The former ESTAC Troyes and RWD Molenbeek manager hailed the significance of the moment stating in his post-match comments, “Coming on a Monday evening at 8:30 p.m. to support us without watching the match, there are few clubs that have this chance.”

Irles continued his comments, “I hope that we will be able to welcome them during the next round and that they will be able to support us on the field.” Bordeaux will find out who they are playing in the next round of the competition on the 17th of October when their region of the country (Nouvelle-Aquitaine) is drawn. 

GFFN | Nick Hartland

With Tchouaméni exiting the pitch, Liverpol centre-back Ibrahima Konaté has been given the skipper’s armband. Konaté already wore it in the dying minutes of France’s game against Israel on Friday in Budapest when Tchouaméni was being replaced in injury time by PSG midfielder Warren Zaïre-Emery, thus becoming France’s 133rd captain in its rich history.

The fact Konaté inherits the skipper’s armband in back-to-back competitive games for France – with the likes of Mike Maignan, Jules Koundé or Ousmane Dembélé overlooked despite having more international experience – speaks volumes about Deschamps’ faith in the Liverpool centre-back. The latter himself backed his candidacy to fill in in the absence of Kylian Mbappé.

GFFN | Bastien Cheval

Les Bleus started on the back foot with Belgium enjoying plenty of freedom in building from the back and Jérémy Doku making differences on the right flank. France were rightly penalized with William Saliba playing Loïs Openda onside and clumsily taking out the RB Leipzig man in his penalty box. Youri Tielemans stepped up and skied his spot-kick. A lift-off for France and an opportunity to make the hosts pay arose.

Following a bout of pressure, Wout Faes handled the ball in trying to shield it from Bradley Barcola. The referee pointed to the spot. Randal Kolo Muani, who was nowhere to be found in the first half-hour, kept a cool head to thwart Koen Casteels. France were heading into half-time with an undeserved lead, but their defensive shortcomings returned to haunt them. Saliba, at fault again, allowed Openda a free header from Timothy Castagne’s cross.

In the second half, France upped the ante and Manu Koné thought he had scored his debut goal with a well-taken near-post finish. But his effort was chalked off with Kolo Muani handling the ball. The PSG centre-forward made amends for it in restoring France’s lead in heading home Lucas Digne’s cross. France weathered a late Belgium push with a player shy considering Aurélien Tchouaméni was given his marching orders.

In the end, France held on to three points in their neighbors’ backyard with the crowd aiming their displeasure at Belgium manager Domenico Tedesco. France will only need one point from two games, against Israel and Italy, to book their ticket for next March’s Nations League quarter-finals.

France players ratings

Mike Maignan, 7

Jules Koundé, 6

Ibrahima Konaté, 6

William Saliba, 3

A catastrophic first half from the Arsenal centre-back. Penalized for taking out Openda in his penalty box, he didn’t learn from his mistakes in playing the Leipzig centre-forward onside for his equalizing goal. Still shaky in the second half.

Lucas Digne, 5

Manu Koné, 5

Mattéo Guendouzi, 6

An energetic midfield shift from the Lazio Rome player, who kicked on following his remarkable cameo from the bench against Israel.

Aurélien Tchouaméni, 4

The skipper was the less influential France midfielder of the night and he took one for the team in preventing Youri Tielemans from a one-on-one with Maignan, letting his teammates one player shy in the final 15 minutes.

Ousmane Dembélé, 4

Randal Kolo Muani, 7

The centre-forward is as wasteful for PSG as he is clinical for France. He kept a cool head to dispatch a spot-kick for his first goalscoring opportunity and restored France’s lead with a confident header. No France player scored more goals this year than him.

Bradley Barcola, 6

GFFN | Bastien Cheval

Two seasons at PSG was all the 2022 World Cup winner could handle, and though he failed to take them to a UEFA Champions League title, he won two Ligue 1 crowns and the Trophée des Champions during his brief spell.

The Argentine captain is currently at Inter Miami CF in Major League Soccer (MLS), who recently won the Supporters’ Shield for the best record in the regular season.

Brecht Dejaegere (33) recently spoke to a Belgian news outlet, RTBF, about a recent conversation he had with Messi following a match between Miami and his former club Charlotte FC.

After the match ended, Dejaegere asked Messi about his time in Paris.

The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner summed it up in one word: ‘la mierda’, which in English translates to ‘s**t’.

Dejargere and Messi had faced each other before when the Belgian was playing his club football at Toulouse FC, and Messi was at PSG.

According to Dejaegere, who now features Kortrijk in the Belgian Pro League, Messi was fed up with the negativity around Les Parisiens during his two seasons at the club, where he was constantly whistled and booed.

Despite the club boasting an array of talented attacking players, including Messi’s former Barça teammate Neymar and current Real Madrid striker Kylian Mbappé, PSG failed to go beyond the last 16 of the Champions League in their two seasons with Messi.

When Messi joined Inter Miami, he admitted that he did not want to leave the Catalonian club, calling the move to Paris an overnight decision.

 “It was difficult in Paris, but it is quite the opposite of what is going on with me here and now,” said Messi.

While he failed to deliver on the club’s ultimate goal to win the Champions League, Messi still put together two strong campaigns for Les Parisiens. He scored 21 goals and 20 assists in his final season at PSG before coming to MLS on a free transfer in July 2023.

Before coming to PSG, Messi won four Champions League titles at Barça and was the tournament’s top scorer on six occasions.

GFFN | Joel Lefevre

To replace Upamecano, Didier Deschamps has called up Badé, as he did in the September international break when Chelsea’s Wesley Fofana had to pull out as well through injury. Badé is yet to make his debut with Les Bleus as he injured himself before France’s game against Italy. Fofana is also a doubt. L’Equipe understands that the Chelsea centre-back will meet with the medical staff upon his arrival this afternoon at Clairefontaine.

France will play two away games in the UEFA Nations League A2 group. They will travel to Budapest, Hungary, to face Israel on Thursday. Four days later, on Monday, Les Bleus will pay a visit to their Belgian neighbors at Brussels.

GFFN | Bastien Cheval

Ahead of their match with Montpellier HSC, a statue of the late Reims striker will be unveiled outside Stade Auguste-Delaune at 3:30 p.m. local time on Sunday.

Fontaine’s widow, Arlette, along with his children and grandchildren, will be on hand for the special ceremony.

The ceremony comes nearly six years after another Reims legend was honoured with a statue of his own, Fontaine’s teammate for three seasons at Les rouges et blancs, the late Raymond Kopa.

Sculptor Juan Carlos Carrillo made the Fontaine statue with the assistance of Mathias Galichet.

Reims supporters will get a chance to see the 300kg bronze statue for the first time on Sunday afternoon.

It is said to be an echo of the ‘Smiling Angel’, a famous statue at the Cathedral of Reims.

During Fontaine’s tenure at Reims, the club won three Ligue 1 titles in four seasons from 1957-58 to 1961-61 and finished as European Cup (now the Champions League) runners-up in 1959-60, with the Moroccan-born French striker finishing as the top scorer in that competition (10 goals).

On two occasions, he was also the top goalscorer in the French top flight and won the 1958 World Cup Golden Boot with 13 goals, a record that still stands today.

In 2013, Fontaine was awarded the Legion of Honour (Légion d’honneur), the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Fontaine passed away on March 1, 2023, in Toulouse at the age of 89.

GFFN | Joel Lefevre

Donnarumma was at fault for both of Arsenal’s goals in the midweek tie, something that was not out of the ordinary for the goalkeeper. Donnarumma has an unfortunate reputation for making costly errors in the Champions League. 

Paris Saint-Germain have seemingly not placed their full trust in the Italian international as they were swift to secure competition for the goalkeeper over the summer bringing in Matvei Safanov (25) as the backup for the role. 

Luis Enrique blames himself instead of Gianluigi Donnarumma

However, Luis Enrique has leapt to Donnarumma’s defence during his pre-match press conference ahead of this weekend’s tie with OGC Nice. “We have been talking about this subject for years, well before I arrived here. I have no problems. There are no mistakes from Donnarumma in goal.”

The manager continued, “We should have, collectively, resolved the problem well before [Donnarumma was involved]. It’s not his fault, I repeat, the culprit is me. My career is full of these types of situations, I will overcome it with work and the ability to motivate my players.” 

“I am used to people being relentless with Donnarumma. I am confident in what I see in sessions, in matches. If you’re looking for someone to blame, it’s me, leave Donnarumma alone, blame me,” Luis Enrique concluded. 

The capital club travels south for the Sunday match as they hope to return to winning ways. A draw against Stade de Reims last weekend preceded the first loss of the season to Arsenal.

GFFN | Nick Hartland

The Ghanaian international has only started twice for Sage this season after he pointedly rejected a move away from the club this summer. Fulham FC had been interested in Nuamah and even flown their medical staff out to the French city to perform their examinations. 

However, Nuamah walked out of the medical as he was determined to remain at Lyon and play for the club in their European campaign. Nuamah started Lyon’s first Europa League match against Olympiacos but made only a 14-minute substitute appearance against the Scottish side. 

Despite the limited minutes, Sage was not pleased with the winger’s showing. The manager in his post-match comments stated “I really liked the entry of Saïd Benrahma who created situations for himself and played for the team. I expected a little more from Nuamah because I think there was a difference between his game and his teammates. He went looking for things a little more himself than for the team.” 

Lyon will hope to translate their European form into their domestic season as they host FC Nantes on Sunday afternoon. 

GFFN | Nick Hartland

Donnarumma had a notably poor performance on Tuesday evening when PSG travelled to the Emirates Stadium for their Champions League tie. The Italian goalkeeper did not cover himself in glory and was at fault for the two goals both of which came from Arsenal set-pieces. 

There have been long-standing questions over the suitability of Donnarumma to Luis Enrique’s style of game, as well as criticisms over his unfortunate reputation of making costly errors in the Champions League. However, until now, Donnarumma has remained the undisputed number one at the club. 

Luis Enrique’s preference for three goalkeepers

The arrival of Matvei Safanov (25) over the summer has provided some competition while Luis Enrique’s preference for a three-man rotation at the position meant that Arnau Tenas (23) remained at the club over the summer. 

Whether Luis Enrique will drop Donnarumma remains to be seen, but doubts are building in the capital, and L’Équipe reports that contract talks between the club and player over a contract extension beyond his 2026 end date have been slow to materialise.  

GFFN | Nick Hartland