FIFA World Cup 2018 team analysis: Belgium are dark horses, time they did something about it

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April 28 2024, 07:30 PM

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FIFA World Cup 2018 team analysis: Belgium are dark horses, time they did something about it

Country: Belgium

Placed in Group G also featuring England, Panama and Tunisia

Fixtures:

Belgium vs Panama, June 18, at 8.30 pm IST (Sochi)

Belgium vs Tunisia, June 23, at 5.30 pm IST (Moscow Spartak)

Belgium vs England, June 27, at 11.30 pm IST (Kaliningrad)

FIFA ranking: 3

World Cup fixtures | Groups and points table

Previous World Cup: 2014 (Eliminated from quarterfinals by Argentina)

Best finish: Fourth place finish in 1986

Star players: Eden Hazard (midfielder for Chelsea), Kevin de Bruyne (midfielder for Manchester City), Romelu Lukaku (striker for Manchester United), Thibaut Courtois (goalkeeper for Chelsea)

Only 3 weeks to go before our @FIFAWorldCup ! ⚽🎉
We are #REDTOGETHER 🇧🇪

🔜 #WorldCup #BELPAN pic.twitter.com/XUXDg59pAo
— Belgian Red Devils (@BelRedDevils) May 28, 2018

Coach: Roberto Martinez

Possessing a set of midfielders who are the envy of all other teams, Belgium are one of the most talented sides in the world. When it comes to the big stages though, Belgium's performances turn out to be a damp squib - losing to Argentina in the 2014 World Cup quarterfinals and Wales in the 2016 European Championships. At the FIFA World Cup 2018 in Russia, they will attempt to break this tag of chokers.

Midfield geniuses

Leading the midfield for Belgium will be Chelsea's Eden Hazard and Manchester City's Kevin de Bruyne. The duo was in blistering form during the 2017/18 Premier League season - de Bruyne provided 21 assists and scoring 21 goals, while Hazard scored 17 and assisted 13 goals. The forward line of Romelu Lukaku and Dries Mertens need to be at their clinical best to tuck in the sneaky passes from these two in Russia.

🏫 😈 Il est l’heure d’annoncer les 5 gagnants de notre action #écolesendiablées ! 😉 🎉

🗣️ R.Martínez

ℹ️ https://t.co/Mhi98dnr5J #REDTOGETHER 🇧🇪 pic.twitter.com/mfXDiPVPtc
— Belgian Red Devils (@BelRedDevils) June 1, 2018

Apart from the two, Mousa Dembele can do well as a holding midfielder while Yannick Carrasco can increase Belgium's attacking options. Marouane Fellaini and Axel Witsel are two capable stars who will need to fight hard in training to earn their spots in the Starting XI for Les Diables Rouges.

Players for Martinez's system

Sometimes, the Belgium Playing XI appears to be just a set of brilliant players forced into a system rather than a coach's formation deciding who gets picked. Radja Nainggolan of Roma was controversially left out of the squad due to his feud with Martinez.

🔜 100x @JanVertonghen 😎
🔜 34x @RomeluLukaku9 😉#REDTOGETHER 🇧🇪#WorldCup #Jan100 pic.twitter.com/2iGnuDXO4E
— Belgian Red Devils (@BelRedDevils) June 1, 2018

Former Everton manager Martinez will be fully aware of what his team's weakness will be and is sure to have a Plan B in Russia. Belgium, who had Marc Wilmots in 2014 and 2016 at the helm, are playing their first big competition under Martinez.

Tight three-man defence

Belgium will mostly go with a 3-4-2-1 formation where Toby Alderweireld, Vincent Kompany, Jan Vertonghen will marshall the defence. Thibaut Courtois is undoubtedly one of the best goalkeepers in the world but has failed to spark in pressure situations.

⚽️👕🗒️🏃🏾‍♂️🏥🥘📲🎥 #REDTOGETHER 🇧🇪

Ontdek onze staf voor het WK!
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Découvrez notre staff pour le Mondial !
➡️ https://t.co/UeaX07ZCZq

🔜 #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/3P1CEqE4EZ
— Belgian Red Devils (@BelRedDevils) May 28, 2018

Belgium will score a lot of goals but their chances in Russia will depend on how they fare against the counter-attacks.

Prediction: Belgium will progress from Group G and can sail through to quarterfinals. Whether they make the last-four depends on how they fare against South American teams.