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BELGIUM thread

I agree that the midfield cost them against a very defensive and cohesive Italian side. Credit to Conte for really outwitting Wilmots.

But I'm sure Belgium will improve for the upcoming games and be the force that they should be and go far.
 
I certainly hope you're right, but here in Belgium many people doubt that. We were rather weak in our qualification group. The results weren't bad (apart from a defeat in Wales), but the way our team played was not good. In the frindlies the last weak, we were also not very good.

About Dembele, Wilmots never plays him, don't know why.
I would play with a midfield Nainggolan (most defensive player), Dembele and KDB. Dembele and Nainggolan should play like Dier and Dembele at Spurs.
At the back i would put Vertonghen-Alderweireld as CB, Meunier at RB and Vermaelen or Jordan Lukaku as LB (i prefer Vermaelen).

I would play Mertens and Carrasco as wingers and Batschuayi as CF.

That would be a team without both Wilmots' fetish players: Witsel and Hazard.

There is something with Hazard in our national team, for some reason he rarely performs (and his match against Italy was one of his best until now). He would put him on the bench for a few matches to motivate him.

Wilmots made him captain and imo he is not captain material. After the match against Italy, he refused to speak to the press...Vertonghen took it upon himself to confront the press. IMO Jan is our most natural leader (but he's my favourite player, so i'm biased).

One could also ask what effect the Chelsea-Spurs match has upon the team. Before that match Hazard was one of the players that said that they would do verything to avoid Spurs becoming champions and he was magnificent in that match (if only he would play like that for our national team). Hazard is also notoriuous for not defending. Usually he plays at left and Vertonghen is the victim of his 'lazyness' (this is exagerated). Against Switzerland (with Shaqiri noticing the gap), Vertonghen really suffered... What did Wilmots do? He put Hazard as a number 10, moved Mertens from right winger to left and put KDB as right winger. Thereby weakening his team to indulge his star player...

Wimots still sees KDB as some sort of errand-boy for Hazard where most people think that KDB usually (not against Italy) is the real star of the team...

I'm very pessimistic for the rest of the Tournament (and usually i'm not). This is a unique chance, we will never have a generation with talent like this one and we will end up not winning silverware because we have a coach that i not good enough...

These players deserve a coach like Conte...
 
now now, let's not over think. There are still many matches to go.

But I do agree that Hazard feels like a different player in Belgium colours...such a shame. I do feel that not using him though, may not motivate him but may make him sulk even more...and no Lukaku as striker? he's so prolific.

But I agree that KDB should be used more as the star of the team and the future to build upon inspiring more to follow. As for silverware, didn't you write that the upcoming tier of youngsters are even better than this team? Maybe in Russia or the next Euro is the one for Belgium to shine?
 
Yes i wrote that the upcoming youngsters were even more talented, but they aren't breaking through. IMO they went too soon to foreign clubs.

Bossaerts with Man City is a flop.
Charly Musonda Jr is doing very well with Betis Sevilla now (he is the biggest talent).
LVG didn't use Perreira much (and he will choose for Brazil although he was born and grew up less than 1 km from where i live).
Sieben Schrijvers was loaned out by Genk to a lesser Belgian club.
And Januzaj is also stagnating and will play for Kosovo national team...
 
What I saw from Belgium was that they played right into Conte's hand. No width at all from Belgium, everything through the centre where Italy conveniently won every battle due to the lack of creativity Belgium had with De Bruyne pushed out width. De Rossi, Parolo, Bonucci, Barzagli and Chiellini ate them up.

De Bruyne needs to play the number ten role. If Wilmots doesn't see this a toddler would be a better fit to coach this team. It reminds me of the time Wenger stuck Özil on the wing.
 
i just read an article that Mousa Dembele is the best box to box midfielder of the top five competitions. This is purely based on stats (interceptions, sucesfull tackles, dribbles; succes passing rate and others). Wimmots does not even consider to play him. Witsel is untouchable yet in the match against Italy Witsel and Fellaini combined won 2 tackles...
 
Dembélé was fantastic last season, underrated but one of the most important players for Spurs. The transformation he has went through in his career is also amazing in my opinion. I remember when he played at Willem II and he was a tricky winger/stricker. Then he went to AZ and became more of an attacking midfielder, still a fantastic dribbler, but with too little to show for it. Playing in the Premier League and getting much stronger physically seems to have born fruit for him. I don't remember exactly who started playing him as a box-to-box midfielder first but I think it may have been Martin Jol. Another underrated figure, I really like him as a manager.
 
Did Dembele ever had Jol as a manager?
Surely not with Spurs, he came when AVB was manager...
Maybe in Holland.
He had Van Gaal at AZ.
 
I know, I meant when Dembélé was at Fulham. I'm quite certain Jol moved him from him away from the more attacking role he played at AZ.
 
it's crazy they don't play Carrasco & Mertens.
They would be starters in most teams at the Euros
 
According to the Belgian press, Wilmots is thinking about putting De Bruyne on the bench against Ireland.

If this is true, then he surely has Alzeheimers disease or something worse...without KDB, Belgium wouldn't have qualified for either WC and EC. He is the one player who creates chances for others.

KDB played his wordt match ever against Italy, but he still gave a pass that should have been an assist if we had an half decent forward and not Lukaku. Surely, everybody has the rigth to have an off-day and certainly the best player of the team...Witsel is playing awfull for 2 years now and he still starts every match while Dembele is on the bench and Kums isn't even in the selection.

Surely, this can't be true?
 
gerd said:
According to the Belgian press, Wilmots is thinking about putting De Bruyne on the bench against Ireland.

If this is true, then he surely has Alzeheimers disease or something worse...without KDB, Belgium wouldn't have qualified for either WC and EC. He is the one player who creates chances for others.

KDB played his wordt match ever against Italy, but he still gave a pass that should have been an assist if we had an half decent forward and not Lukaku. Surely, everybody has the rigth to have an off-day and certainly the best player of the team...Witsel is playing awfull for 2 years now and he still starts every match while Dembele is on the bench and Kums isn't even in the selection.

Surely, this can't be true?
Click to expand...
Isn't the rumor he received a knock and might have a mild injury?
 
Hazard getting in form at the right time... what a player.

I wanted Hungary to win, since they were so enthusiastic.. about the campaign.. but Belgium was quality..
 
Hazard was great, but this is his first really great match for the national team.
This must have been a good match for the neutrals, Hungary played well. A quick goal makes everything easier.

Imo the difference between both teams wasn't that big.

Enjoyed this Hungary team in the tournament.
 
gerd said:
Hazard was great, but this is his first really great match for the national team.
This must have been a good match for the neutrals, Hungary played well. A quick goal makes everything easier.

Imo the difference between both teams wasn't that big.

Enjoyed this Hungary team in the tournament.
Click to expand...

Maybe the group stage was a bit 'meh' for them tournament-prestige-wise. Once they got into the knockouts they felt that importance and limelight of it and giving their all for it.

I hope this continues.
 
That's a difficult one to call, goku.
Normally we should beat them.
I sincerely think we have a better team.

But, yes they have a good record against us.

We played them in the last two qualifications (WC Brazil and this EC). I remember those 4 matches.

The first one was in Wales and we won 0-2. This was the first match in the WC qualification. A month before we had beaten arch rivals Holland and from then on our national team became a hype. This was one of the most important matches ever, if we hadn't won this one, the hype would have been over. The players were very nervous and didn't play particularly well but they won. At the time nobody spoke about Wales...our team didn't play well because of nerves.

The second of those 4 matches was the last match in the WC Qualifiers. We had won in Croatia and sealed qualification for the WC. This was supposed to be a party, but the Welsh players spoiled it and scored, the match ended 1-1 (i first wrote here that Wales won 0-1, it was a draw that felt as a defeat). Everybody here saw it as an accident.

Our first match against them in the qualifers for this tournament was in Brussels. Our team dominated but somehow never scored and the match ended 0-0. People over here thought we were unlucky because we largely dominated that match...we were just sloppy... (that wasn't true, it dawned on me that Wales were very disciplined and did play a hell of a defensive match).

The match in Wales must have been in june 2015, at a bad moment. The season was over for all the players, there was just his match in Wales. By now lots of people had a bad feeling and a draw was seen as a good result. Quite early in the match Nainggolan wanted to head back a ball to Courtois, but the ball landed in the feet of Bale and that was that: goal. A stupid goal and Wales could once again defend. They easily kept the clean sheet and deservedly won the match.

So what am i thinking? Well we got the better players and if we play like in the match against Hungary, we will win.

But.

It's clear that Wales has become our bogey team. Hungary gave us lots of space, something Wales will not do...

If Wales succeeds to score the first goal we're out. And otherwise it will be very difficult.

The match is played in Lille which is our back garden and Lille is also where Hazard has plied his trade, if there are neutrals they will support Belgium.

Hazard is very motivated to play in Lille (he still loves LOSC) and that motivation inspired him against Hungary (by far the best match he ever played for Belgium).

There is a theory here in Belgium that Hazard noticed rather early that the third year under Mourinho was the year too much and that he 'forgot' Chelsea and concentrated on this Euro. His father even said so...

I also hope we don't start with Lukaku, but with Batschuayi or even Benteke.

Vermaelen has two yellows and that will be a huge loss(to my suprise he is playing a fantastic tournament). Wilmots can play Vertonghen-Alderweireld as CB's but then we will have huge problems on the sides: Meunier is the weakest link in the current team and Jordan Lukaku is good going forward, but disastrous in defense...

It will be close... we should win,but i think Wales have a good chance. I don't like their football, it's too defensive, but Coleman has done a fantastic job and the players are very disciplined and then there is the small matter of Gareth Bale...

I really don't know, goku...
 
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I agree with you about Wales being very disciplined (Much like Italy were against you in the opening match). My mind says that Belgium should go through, but somehow, I have this small voice hoping that Wales can keep going...another magical touch by Bale and set up a Bale vs Ronaldo semi...

But as you said, Hazard plays very motivated when he's in Lille and KDB will keep on impressing as he always has, so if no spectacular defensive blunder, Belgium should have this game at 1-0 or 2-0. (I agree if Wales scores first, it'd be very hard to crack down)
 
My favourite player is out for 4 months.
Wilmots we play Denayer or Ciman (please don't) as cb and Jordan Lukaku as left back.
Strange that he didn't even thinks about Kabasele (well he was called up at the lat moment because of all the injuries at the back and he never played a second for the national team, but he is better than Ciman).

There are also doubts about Hazard.
 
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