No Kylian Mbappé, no problem? Perhaps it's not so easy for France, who started this game as a confused rabble but rallied enough to keep a lively Belgium in check. The controversy over his no-show will continue, as will the wider concerns about player workloads overshadowing this Nations League game, and a stronger opposition could potentially have darkened the mood even further.

Two goals from Randal Kolo Muani, one from the penalty spot, prevented Loïs Openda from replying and ensured France progressed to the quarter-finals with another point. Belgium's 43-year run without a win against their neighbors was extended, but they made a positive contribution to a night that prompted much reflection on the game's place in the world.

It should have been one of the heavyweight duels in European football, but it felt rather disappointing at the start. Mbappé's absence from this round of games as he manages his post-injury workload has caused widespread unrest in France, where he has been accused of picking his leadership moments Les Bleusbut he was not the only one to suspend the proceedings. Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku had both been relieved of duty for Belgium to avoid the risk of overexerting the main topic. The three biggest names involved in this affair had all concluded that involvement might cost too much.

So it seemed darkly fitting that the afternoon had been spent four miles away, in a conference room near the heart of the Brussels bureaucracy, poring over the legal action taken by Fifpro and European leagues against Fifa's introduction of a terribly excessive fixture calendar had initiated. Those immersed in the details only needed a 20-minute drive to see the real-world consequences of football's Mammon slavery in full swing.

Some of the more predatory stakeholders at the club gaming summit would be keen to insist that the international windows should feel the pinch sooner if the fixture reductions meant even a minor harm to their own interests. But famous rivalries like these pose less of a problem than far-flung, poorly planned Club World Cups with a nebulous goal. So it was heartening to see both sides put on a spectacle that held attention with a steady flow, even if there were no star performances of opportunities and talking points.

Mbappé's absence was not the only reason why France looked unfamiliar. Since the 2024 European Championship they have said goodbye to Antoine Griezmann and Olivier Giroud, each irreplaceable in their own way, and for a long time they seemed leaderless here. That was certainly the case before half-time, when Belgium must have been wondering how the game could still be alive.

De Bruyne had criticized his team-mates' performance after a narrow second-leg defeat in September as Belgium flopped in Lyon. They set off as if determined to fix him. Jérémy Doku had Lucas Digne in his sights, which quickly earned him a clumsy challenge and a yellow card. With Youri Tielemans in control, an early breakthrough seemed inevitable.

Openda narrowly missed before Leandro Trossard's freedom on the left saw Mike Maignan parry a deflected shot. Belgium was relentless, its visitors were stupid; In the 20th minute, Tielemans Openda played through and William Saliba slipped as his opponent turned inwards and flattened him in the penalty area. Saliba, rarely forced into such a desperate situation at Arsenal, thought he had been saved by an offside flag, but the VAR rightly deemed this wrong. Tielemans took responsibility for the penalty but shot the ball up in horror.

Apart from a good try from Bradley Barcola, on which a lot of hope rests, Didier Deschamps' players had nothing to offer after half an hour. Then Barcola came again, working in space and convincing Wout Faes to perform a bizarre diving procedure. Faes had landed his hand on the ball; Now France had their own penalty and Muani showed Tielemans how it's done.

Nevertheless, opportunities arose for Belgium and it felt like Openda, initially suppressed again by the assistant referee, equalized in stoppage time. He had timed his run perfectly to head in Timothy Castagne's cross and it quickly became clear that the latest offside call would be overturned. Belgium should have been ahead, but at least they were level and had shown De Bruyne's skill.

They remained ambitious after the break but felt France was a more coherent and perhaps more willing proposition. The previously calm Ousmane Dembélé performed a slalom over 60 yards and then missed; Manu Koné then rolled away after beating Koen Casteels, but Muani's handball dampened his joy. A legitimate goal quickly followed. Digne had recovered well from his earlier attack by Doku and swung over a hanging cross that Muani, climbing over a static Faes, sent deep to Casteels' left.

Tielemans, Trossard and Digne could all have scored in the following 10 minutes. Now that was a lot of fun and the final twist came when Tielemans was tackled to the ground by Aurélien Tchouaméni. Mbappé's deputy captain was banned for the second time and sent to lick his wounds; Maignan parried Trossard's free kick and, as much pressure as the Belgians were in the final stages, they again felt the weight of the six-kick.