Probably Feghouli (Valencia), Faouzi Ghoualm (Napoli), Bentaleb (Tottenham), Saphir Taider (Inter) and Nabil Ghilas (Porto) But then again i haven't seen them play and these players are only from the better teams, I'm not sure about their contribution to the Algerian team. I only know Feghouli is supposed to be their star man and that their weakness will probably the right-back.
I think you're being overly optimistic. I have a feeling Algeria will play a pretty grind it out style with a few dangerous moves on the counter. A lot of pressure is going to be on De Bruyne's shoulders; he's got to find the final ball and get everyone involved. Did anyone else find Belgium way too static against Tunisia? It felt like after they passed the ball forward, they (Fellaini, Dembele especially) didn't infiltrate into the opponents' 16. The best way to break down a 10 man wall is with intelligent movement and passing and unfortunately that was sorely lacking on Saturday. One other thing that worries me is Hazard and Vertonghen on the flank. They really don't seem to gel well. Little overlap, lots of running into the same space and Hazard neglecting to track back. Hopefully that's just a result of their general antipathy towards friendlys.
Good analysis of Belgium http://www.zonalmarking.net/2014/06/10/belgium-can-they-succeed-without-proper-full-backs/
I am hoping for a win, any kind of win. Even a lucky 1-0. BTW, bad news just now from the Belgian camp, Origi and KDB had to end their training session early after receiving knocks to the ankle. Origi was taken to a hospital. Though now apparently Wilmots has said he expects them both to be ready for training tomorrow. I hope that is the case!
You guys will go to the semi-final. Overly optimistic? Maybe, but I feel Belgium will have one hell of a tournament
#BEL LINE-UP: Courtois, Alderweireld, Kompany (c), Vertonghen, Witsel, De Bruyne, Lukaku, Hazard, Van Buyten, Dembele, Chadli #BELALG— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) June 17, 2014
Stupid vertonghen. We need to break down their defense. Dominating possession but nothing to show for it.
Terrible first team selection! martens and mirallas in bench!!! We need to speed up our game against organised defense. Thats what happened in the second half.
From Lille, only played half a season in the first team. He is pretty good. His movement was a lot better than Lukaku's.
So very relieved we won that. Just about deserved based on the final twenty five minutes. The rest of the game was instantly forgettable. No excuses for Wilmots to leave out either Mertens or Fellaini now.
This, Chadli in the first XI was just..wow... Dembele thought possession mattered, while we should've gone forward. Happy we won though.
Vertonghen should come in to pair kompany with vermaelen as left back. martens/mirallas should start with fellaini behind the lone striker because of his unorthodox but effective playing style.
Interesting thought, but a few problems with it imo. If you play Fellaini up top with a lone striker, you're essentially going to a 4-4-2 which in principle isn't a problem, but then De Bruyne (who we can all agree needs to play centrally), will have to be pushed back from attacking midfield into a slightly more defensive role. Also I'd reverse what you said about Vertonghen and Vermaelen; keep Vertonghen at LB. Yes he made a stupid mistake, but of all the guys we took to Brazil, he's unfortunately our best option at left back (he just needs to start crossing the ball a bit more-but he can hit them well when he does: remember at home vs Serbia?). I like Van Buyten, but the issue with him is simple, he just doesn't bring the ball up that well. Algeria was pressing everyone else, even Kompany, so the only player with any freedom was Van Buyten, our least gifted player on the ball (which I suspect was designed by Algeria's coaching staff). Vermaelen/Lombaerts are left footed, so can play left CB well and they are decent in possession. One of the two should play there. I'll do some player ratings for the heck of it Courtois 6: Had literally nothing to do except pick the ball out of the back of the net after the penalty. Alderweireld 6.5: Got caught out a bit by the cross leading up to the penalty but otherwise defensively solid. Made some good attacking runs, but too little end product. Decent performance. Van Buyten 5.5: Almost made a huge error early in the game when he misjudged a ball in the sunlight, but very little else to do. Again wasn't pressured by Algeria because they wanted him to come forward and slow down the play. Kompany 7: Good game, nothing spectacular but was pretty comfortable against inferior opposition. Started joining the midfield later in the game which allowed everyone else to push up. Should he have cleared the cross leading to the penalty? Hard to call. Vertonghen 4.5: Poor, poor mistake by Vertonghen. No need to even think about fouling there and he was risking a red card on top of that. He was comfortable defensively, but again his link up play with Hazard was weak (not all his fault though). He should start crossing the ball earlier, before the opposition closes him down. Witsel 7.5: Dominated the midfield, kept recuperating loose balls. Physically a beast and tried his best to speed up play a bit. Was our most dangerous player before the break and in the second half, his presence allowed the rest of the midfield and wingers to push forward without giving away any counters. Dembele 5: Disappointing from Moussa. At his best he brings a driving force to the game, pushing up with the ball vertically. Here he was much too slow to move and get rid of the ball. Very talented, but needs to rethink his game within the function of the team. Chadli 4.5: He didn't make any major errors (besides not passing to the relatively free Lukaku at the end of the first half), but slowed down the play so much in the central area. He's not light footed or creative enough to play as an attacking mid in the centre of the pitch. Invisible for the most part and when he was on the ball, made the wrong choice consistently. Hazard 6: Not a great game from him either, but every defender knows his threat. He gets mobbed by the time he's taken two touches on the ball. His ball control was weirdly off in this game and was unremarkable for a good deal of it. That said once the game opened up he came alive, and his assist to Mertens was very well executed. De Bruyne 6.5: Terrible first half. Was stifled on the right flank and wasn't his usual self. He livened up once he moved to his usual spot and showed great vision and technique in supplying Fellaini with the first goal. Very nice challenge to set up the second goal as well. Should start in the middle next game and take advantage of teams tending to overplay Hazard on the left flank. Lukaku 5: Tough game for him. Partly his own fault due to his horrendous first touch. He just looks uncomfortable playing with his back to the goal. That said, his midfield gave him pretty much nothing in terms of passes behind the tightly packed Algerian defence. Deserved to be subbed off, but should still start next game where conditions should be different. Subs Mertens 7.5: Great game from him, injected urgency into the team and stretched the Algerians towards the right flank opening up the central areas. Took his goal fantastically well and should be a lock as a starter for the next game. Origi 7: He's become one of my favourite players to watch. Genuinely looks to have everything a striker needs. If Mertens broadened the pitch, Origi pulled the Algerian defence and midfield more apart with his speed and first touch. Almost had an excellent goal that he manufactured himself. Everyone at the training camp was talking about how talented he is, and is clear to see why that is. Fellaini 7.5: When the key doesn't work, try the Afro-tipped battering ram. The real Fellaini came on (probably should have been on earlier), and was an absolute nightmare for the Algerian centre-backs. He towered over them, he was physically stronger, and was more technically skilled as well, no matter what Man Utd fans say. Took his goal brilliantly, but he could have had more too. I would presume next game he'll get the start, but I'm worried we'll lose a lot of those advantages when he plays a more withdrawn role. Coach Wilmots 5.5: Completely wrong lineup to start with but made the right subs and tactical decisions as the game wore on. He's no Van Gaal, but he's smart enough to correct his mistakes relatively quickly so he gets a pass this time.
The russia match will be a completely different ball game cause they will attack us more than algeria and that type of opponent should suit us more. I wish wilmots will play fellaini behind lukaku. Just don't chase the game this time! Score a goal and let your opponent chase the game and that way we will score more goals. About vermaelen I thought him as a left back because he is much quicker than vertonghen and also his knack of coming forward might suit us more.