We did it lads ... who can even hope to stop us now? - Germany? ... as if they'll win two successive titles for the first time, not even one of Germany's great teams, let alone in the history of the game - France? ... inexperienced, will implode anytime soon, Eder - Spain? ... perpetual underachievers, have returned to normal, semi-final exit at best - Brazil, Argentina, etc.? ... not a chance a team from outside Europe wins in Russia, already have named who else will reach the semis, us and a few also-rans Realistically speaking ... nobody can stop us ... it's objectively only days until we win the World Cup: https://days.to/15-july/2018 ... what a time to be alive!
Qualifying with ease, with time to spare, with hardly any blood, sweat and tears shed in the process ... are congratulations really in order now that the group leaders spot is secured and we can collect our Russia2018 tickets? ... do you get an applause whenever you accomplish something as easy as taking a piss? ... not so fast grandpa (ffs will somebody please change his diapers) ... TBH these WCQs were a piece of piss ... hey-ho, as Belgium are the first and only side in Uefa to have qualified ... here goes the absolute least amount of effort:
Infantino could as well hand us the World Cup trophy now ... seeing that we have to wait around, for no reason really, before inevitably lifting the cup in the air ... some pre trophy ceremony nonsense: - rise to 5th place on Fifa's flawed ranking on September 14 - a couple of redundant games against Bosnia and Cyprus in October - meaningless friendlies in November - seriously, our time's better spent rehearsing how to hoist the cup properly - World Cup seeding on December 1 Unless FIFA alters the procedure ... the October 2017 ranking will determine the top-seeds (out on Oct.19) ... after two more games this is how it could look: 1 Brazil 1689 (w-w) 2 Germany 1631 (w-w) 3 Argentina 1539 (w-w) 4 Portugal 1446 (w-w) 5 Belgium 1333 (w-w) 6 Poland 1324 (w-w) 7 Wales 1250 (w-w) 8 France 1226 (w-w) 9 Spain 1218 (w-w) 10 Colombia 1205 (w-d) 11 Chile 1174 (w-l) 12 Switzerland 1134 (w-l) 13 England 1115 (w-w) 14 Italy 1114 (w-w) 15 Peru 1111 (l-d) 16 Mexico 1092 (w-w) 17 Uruguay 1034 (d-w) 18 Turkey 1015 (w-w) 19 Denmark 999 (d-w) 20 Croatia 986 (w-d) If the likes of France, Spain, Italy, etc. don't claim top seed status it's not much of an advantage to avoid ending up in the European pot. Argentina (81.1% to qualify) and Portugal (87.5%) should get in ... Wales (33.9%) might not ... France and/or Spain could grab the final top seed(s). Seeding the host + these 7 teams would be better:
We qualified easily but the level of football against the better sides didn't really improve. We had one decent game against one of the two better teams in the group: at home against Bosnia-Herzegovina. We might play another good game away there - but I don't think so since we are already qualified - but we didn't show enough in 180 minutes against Greece to suggest we are a genuine World Cup contender. Or even a team with a good chance at making it to the semi-finals. It looks like our ceiling will once again be the quarter-finals, unless Martinez can seriously improve this team before next Summer. I don't see that happening.
FFS @Belgian guy ... it's a lighthearted thread, just for laughs, with a few pieces of info thrown in here and there until the time comes for a proper Russia2018 thread ... no need to spoil it with too many facts ... better to nip this sort of nonsense in the bud because before you know it bloody statistics creep in.
We just need 2 Ws next month for top seed status ... 1333, after 2 Ws, guarantees it. BiH W + CYP D = 1261 ... BiH D + CYP W = 1242 The chasing pack: Peru (1353 with 2 Ws - 1255 W COL + D ARG or 1258 the other way round) Poland (1323 with 2 Ws - 1222 W + D MNE but 1250 D + W MNE) Switzerland (1317 with 2 Ws) need to drop points Colombia (1290 with 2 Ws) need to drop points Chile (1256 with 2 Ws) need to drop points Wales (1249 with 2 Ws) need to drop points If all qualify ... 5 out of 8 top seeds are already taken (Russia, Germany, Brazil, Argentina and Portugal) ... 7 teams with a shot at the remaining 3 top seeds. A loss against either Bosnia or Cyprus and too many results need to go our way ... still the taste of our eventual victory will be sweeter in case we choose to decline a top seed and look to be drawn into a group with more worthy opponents ... the harder they try their best, the sweeter the taste.
http://www.fifa.com/about-fifa/news...he-2907924.html?intcmp=fifacom_hp_module_news Fifa altered the procedure for the Final Draw ... the October 2017 edition of the rankings will be used to allocate all qualified teams to the four pots (according to their ranking in descending order) ... so the non-top-seed pots aren't based on geographic regions (unlike in 2014) ... yet no teams from the same confederation, with the exception of UEFA, which could have up to two teams in the same group, will be drawn into the same group.
https://globoesporte.globo.com/fute...rasil-pela-historia-e-o-que-vem-fazendo.ghtml Asked about the main rivals for the World Cup title, Tite made a point of naming several world champions, especially the European ones, but he cited - and stressed - another: Belgium. "I like Belgium. Many individual talents. A lot of quality that has been around for a long time. I donot remember a generation as good as this Belgian one", Tite said. Tite stressing our current generation is the best team he has ever seen ... and he's been around since the 60s ... a very wise man, he knows his football, very wise indeed.
Friendlies against Japan and Mexico ... 9 and 14 November (both at home) ... Asia trip was cancelled (because a long trip would be draining, objections from players + their clubs and practical issues) ... according to De Morgen.
Belgium's World Cup 2018 kit could be inspired by the 1984 design Probably Adidas will tone it down ... like they did with Germany's new kit Spain's kit could also include a similar graphic (to be toned down) Belgium's away kit would simply be yellow
Why would they use one of our worst ever shirts as an inspiration? Also, I like our current away shirts.
http://sportmagazine.knack.be/sport...o-nemen-in-rusland/article-normal-919743.html http://www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/dmf20171101_03163946 Martinez confirming that he views Radja's best position as the 10 and that he's behind Mertens & Hazard (probably KDB too when he is used higher up the pitch) ... he says it didn't work out in the 3 games he used Radja ... I'd like to add that Martinez experimented in friendlies with a 3-5-2 (3-4-1-2) and you can make a case Radja didn't receive the fairest of chances ... besides you don't have to view Radja exclusively as a 10 and he's definitely a better option than Tielemans, Defour, Dendoncker, ... too big to be a squaddie according to Martinez = nonsense, baseless speculation. You can take two of Tielemans/Defour/Dendoncker ... or you can take one of them + Nainggolan ... the latter is better.
Welcome back Radja ! 🇧🇪 #BELMEX #BELJAP #RoadtoRussia pic.twitter.com/O5x7iB4i0d— Belgian Red Devils (@BelRedDevils) November 3, 2017
About the November friendlies ... Mexico (ranked 16th) and Japan (44th) ... TL;DR: these matches are most likely not that important for ranking purposes ... in any case it's better than an exhausting Asia trip ... I'd rather play Mexico than China but I also fancied playing a top Conmebol side. - For the final draw of Qatar2022 the results of these matches are completely irrelevant, i.e. will have zero impact on our ranking by the time of the final draw. It's a winter WC with the final draw taking place in April 2022. It's unlikely that the Oct. 2021 ranking will be used (contrary to Russia2018, a summer WC, with the final draw based on the Oct. 2017 ranking). Also, depreciation would have placed these results in the lowest yielding timeframe (in the unlikely event they'd still be taken into account). Even when aspiring to get as highly seeded as possible in the final draw this is the best time to experiment. - For the Qatar2022 WCQs the qualification process has not yet been announced. FIFA are reviewing their flawed rankings, especially because playing no/very few friendlies is how NTs gaming the rankings can get up there. As a general rule: avoid any friendlies in the year leading up to the draw and every year limit the number of friendlies to the absolute minimum (e.g. Wales played 0 friendlies in the year before the 2018 WCQ draw and ended up in pot 1). This rule is expected to be obsolete if somewhat competent people are reviewing the rankings. With the draw in July 2019 the highest yielding timeframe hasn't started (just in case the review fails to address FIFA's flawed ranking and it remains unchanged on that point). FIFA should take better care of their rankings (or limit the impact they have). We'll have to wait and see if they're up to the task first and even then we'll have to act surprised when the guys at FIFA make unusual decisions, as is their tradition. - There's also the possibility that FIFA's World League or UEFA's (global) Nations League will be linked to WCQs. We can only speculate ATM. Yet seeding might be based on how well you perform in FIFA's World League/UEFA's (global) NL, cfr. UNL and seeding/play-offs for EURO2020. Based on their current ranking ... Peru (ranked 10th) are for the moment the ideal opponent (their ranking is very much inflated and it could have been absolutely ludicrous had October been more kind to them) ... of those ranked higher than us Portugal (3rd) and Argentina (4th) are interesting ones while Germany (1st) or Brazil (2nd) would have been mouthwatering affairs (the Argentina, Brazil, etc. friendlies aren't cheap though) ... among those ranked below us: Poland (6th), Chile (9th), Colombia (13th), Uruguay (17th), etc. = looking mostly at Conmebol sides ... Mexico (16th) are the best you can get from Concacaf, Iran (34th) are a better option from AFC than Japan (44th and led by former Algeria manager Vahid Halilhodžić) and for an African team you'll be looking in the 30-40 range. I don't care that much from which confed they hail, I care more about them giving our guys a proper test (yet without draining the players too much/adding to our injury woes). Non-UEFA sides tend to take friendlies more seriously and if it's two quality teams facing each other it also adds to the prestige (players turning it on). I'm guessing that the international break in March won't be very relevant as well (but who knows it could still be part of the second highest yielding timeframe for the July 2019 draw). The KBVB promised friendlies with top sides ... now deliver. INTERNATIONAL MATCH CALENDAR 2018-2024
I really love a "cheeky" Lozano ... him toying with Ciman should result in Ciman being nowhere near the squad for Russia ... how many goals have we now conceded because of Ciman's lapses? ... NOT great at the EUROs, woeful in the current campaign and I hear he's having a very poor season (which based on his performance for country is no surprise) ... I don't watch MLS but if he can't even cut it there why keep calling him up? ... Kabasele has shown his form in the PL and contributed to his club's early season succes ... Engels and Denayer are better options than Ciman (they can hardly be worse) ... maybe Dendoncker too (if asked Nainggolan might even be able to do a better job in defence; a shame about the injury but he definitely should be in the squad for Russia) ... we need to pray that Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Vermaelen and Kompany are all fit and in top form ... and for the future hope kids like Zinho Vanheusden come good.
In terms of centre backs our options would seem to be as follows: Vertonghen Alderweireld Kompany Vermaelen It seems probable that at least 1 or 2 of these guys will be injured/out of form by the time of the WC. So then we go to the next tier: Dendoncker - would be played out of position and not having a great season so far, but certainly has some quality. Engels - terrible last season and seemed to be off to a bad start with Olympiakos, but apparently getting better, had a good game against Barcelona as well. A proper CB as well. Kabasele - nowhere last season, now playing alright at a good level. Athletic, so would be a decent option as a make shift right back Denayer- now getting starts with Galatasaray, sometimes as a left back, which would offer us some cover there if needed as well. Lombaerts - probably past it now, but has recovered somewhat from his awful season start with KVO. Boyata - seems to have found his level in the SPL, but when asked to play better opposition, he seems to come up short. But he was not horrible yesterday. I think all of these guys would be better than Ciman; I think I've said it before but it's worth repeating; when he faces someone like Lozano, he falters badly. He's quite slow and is beaten easily and makes challenges that leave other defenders exposed. He also seems like a nice guy and always tries his best, but if Martinez didn't think Nainggolan was playing well enough for a selection (!) then I'd be shocked if he thought Ciman is. I'd be pretty comfortable seeing one of the other centre backs in the 2nd tier playing with 2 of the other guys in the 1st tier. If you slotted Engels in with Vertonghen and Alderweireld, I think that would work just fine. But if it's 2 new guys and just one veteran holding the fort, we're in trouble (which is what happened against Wales - J.Lukaku and Denayer had no experience playing together and were badly exposed, despite Alderweireld's presence). I think Martinez should also think about switching back to a back 4 if it suits the available players better. Wilmots was dogmatic about the 4-3-3, but we don't need to swing completely in the opposite direction. A back four of Meunier, Alderwiereld, Kompany/Vermaelen and Vertonghen would work ok and that would allow you to play Witsel, Nainggolan and De Bruyne in the midfield, with Hazard, Lukaku and Mertens up front. Less wide play, but you would have a strengthened midfield and more possession.
Our guys have equalled the unbeaten streak of 14 games, from 15/08/2012 till 15/10/2013 (the loss against Romania on 14 Nov. 2012 was not recognised by FIFA because Romania made 8 subs while only 6 were allowed) ... and against Japan we can break this record. With a win against Japan and Mexico the longest win streak could have also been extended but because of the draw we'll have to wait to set a new record.
Looking ahead to Russia ... who'll be selected by Martinez? Courtois + Mignolet + Casteels or maybe another 3rd stringer will end up as an unused sub Only behind benchwarming goalies ... defenders (and holding mids) are more likely than other players to return from a World Cup without having played a single minute (that's verifiable info, indisputable). Just to illustrate, Germany took 7 defenders with them to Brazil (+ Lahm who was used as a DM in the first 4 games) ... 3 ended up as unused subs while Germany went all the way ... if Loew had been as risk-averse as quite a few other (insecure) managers he would have made a poor, irrational decision ... adding another unused sub while leaving a player out that he ended up using in their run. Based on the evidence it's better to take an attacking player instead of an extra defender to Russia ... NT managers opt for stability in the spine and only when their hand is forced will they fiddle with it ... if Martinez doesn't trust a defender, e.g. issues with form or fitness, I'd say leave him out ... even when it's Kompany for example (in case he's a serious doubt at the end of this season) ... IMO 5 CBs is more than enough (even including Dendoncker among those 5 and the possibility that a CB could be used as cover elsewhere on the pitch) ... at least one of Dendoncker/Denayer/Engels needs to be brought to gain experience/continuity in our ageing backline ... to make it 5 CBs I'd go for Vermaelen, depending on how the 2nd half of the season pans out (moving to a club where he's a starter?), or Kabasele but that's simply based on current form. Yet Bobby might go for 6 CBs ... usually he doesn't call up too many though and as I explained I wouldn't mind 5 (which is plenty already). Alderweireld, Kompany and Vertonghen are nailed on starters if fit/in form + 2 or 3 of Vermaelen/Dendoncker/Ciman/Boyata/Kabasele/Denayer/Engels Martinez said in October (when J.Lukaku got injured): "Op de wingbacks heb ik met Thorgan Hazard, Yannick Carrasco, Thomas Meunier en Nacer Chadli voldoende wisselmogelijkheden." Bobby considers them as wingback options (some also as cover elsewhere on the pitch). Against Japan I guess Januzaj will be allowed to make a case for himself as a wingback. I believe Bobby still wants the choice to play with a back 4 (possibly not only as an alternative for different games but also to use more than 1 system in the same game) ... in which case he either moves Vertonghen to LB, as @Rode Duivels fan already suggested, or J.Lukaku has a real shot at making the squad for Russia. Meunier, KDB, Witsel and Carrasco + all of Chadli, Fellaini and Dembele + 1 or 2 of Tielemans/Defour/Nainggolan + 1 or 2 of J.Lukaku/T.Hazard/Januzaj Mertens and Hazard Lukaku + 2 of Batshuayi/Origi/Benteke Chances are Bobby will mainly cater to our attacking players ... either an attacking or defensive version of 3-4-2-1, a system that, if you're inclined so, allows for reactive football as well and by no means is a sieve (unless you haven't put in enough work with starters, and squaddies too, to ingrain the system +/- players give less than 100%, perform well below their club form) ... or 3-4-1-2, when you're looking to add steel in midfield with two of Witsel/Fellaini/Nainggolan/et al. Switching from 3-4-2-1 to 3-4-1-2 (with either Hazard or KDB playing behind the strikers) should be easy enough and gives defences a new set of problems. When facing a team like e.g. Spain you can want more possession but that won't happen ... problems in midfield, having a man less, 2 v. 3, aren't a big deal when we aren’t looking to have possession ... it would be a waste to throw away what we've worked towards ... please stay the course and make use of the width which our wingbacks provide. Players putting in hardly any effort, no movement, no tempo, creating very little, not much communication, poor pressing, switching off, being a step too slow or hesitant, leaving huge spaces which can be exploited, etc. Then it isn't necessarily the system but it's definitely on the players. Likewise for a 4-3-3. Any plan needs to be executed properly. It's all in the execution and the players are very much to blame if they do a half-arsed job. The wingbacks need to push up because it's important to pin back the opponent's wide players, to not invite trouble (you also have 3 CBs and Nainggolan/Dembele/Witsel/Fellaini/et al. to cover as much as 3-4-3 allows). With the wingbacks either cutting inside or on the overlap you should be able to create plenty of one-on-one situations for the likes of Hazard, Mertens, Carrasco, Meunier, et al. That's a guarantee for goals while still being defensively solid. Besides for Bobby the best defense is a good offense. Lukaku likes to cut inside from the right to get a shot off with his stronger left, why not, Mertens is comfortable drifting into more central areas or interchanging with Hazard. I'd rather go with a direct style, very attacking, high intensity, building the play from the back in a fluid and vertical way, compact and a very high defensive line, often calling the widemen into play, lots of near and quick passes in the final third, lightning-fast transitions and lots of players pushing forward.
Final Draw Simulator: http://ultra.zone/2018-FIFA-World-Cup-Group-Stage-Draws Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_FIFA_World_Cup_seeding