Rode Duivels - pre World Cup friendly campaign

Discussion in 'Belgium' started by Belgian guy, Nov 14, 2013.

  1. Belgian guy

    Belgian guy Member+

    Club Brugge
    Belgium
    Aug 19, 2002
    Belgium
    Club:
    Club Brugge KV
    Seemed like it made sense to make a thread for the games in the build up to Brazil. :)
     
  2. Blondo

    Blondo Member+

    Sep 21, 2013
  3. Belgian guy

    Belgian guy Member+

    Club Brugge
    Belgium
    Aug 19, 2002
    Belgium
    Club:
    Club Brugge KV
    People are going overboard over this result I feel.

    What did I really prove? Two things we already knew, namely:

    Our forward line needs too many chances to score.

    Our backline is in trouble from the moment more than one of their regular starters is out and/or playing out of his position.
     
  4. ra_sriniketan

    ra_sriniketan Member

    Jul 5, 2010
    The result didn't surprise me at all. We did brilliantly in a mediocre group. Yet to play teams like Spain, Germany, Holland, England, Argentina, Brazil, Nigeria, Cameroon. Tell me how u guys really feel when we r going to face these team in full strength!
     
  5. Blondo

    Blondo Member+

    Sep 21, 2013
    Chile shows again why we'd like to avoid them (also did well against Spain, Brazil, Colombia, etc.) ... ok they 'only' have beaten England in a friendly but beyond their most famous players they boast a well organised squad. Hopefully they get drawn into 1 of the other 3 UEFA seeded groups as I rather have Ecuador in ours ... from the C-BOL/CAF pot the likes of Ghana are drawn first into C-BOL seeded groups (the chances of drawing Chile or Ecuador are double those of drawing Ghana, NGA, CIV, etc. while we'd simply avoid the strongest CAF teams if they are drawn before those that are perceived to be weaker).

    Guessing Croatia will grasp a berth at home and Greece should be able to defend their lead away. It's hard to score against Portugal but at home Sweden could manage it ... still feel Portugal will be the favourite. France got banged up by Ukraine... they'll need to go all out at home and if they pull it off, they'll be that special pot team.
     
    pepinointer repped this.
  6. Blondo

    Blondo Member+

    Sep 21, 2013
    I'm pretty relaxed about the result of this friendly ... I'd start worrying if in 7 months time we somehow unlearn to be successful. Besides 'you learn more from the matches that you lose than from those that you win' ... now you can afford to lose.

    Spain, Germany, Argentina & Brazil are favored over all other teams/outsiders too. Do I fear them more than before the Colombia friendly? Nah they remain a cut above everyone else and like those other teams we'll be the underdogs if we face them ... the big 4 are supposed to win, luckily surprise upsets do happen during World Cups.

    Compared to the other 27 teams that will make it to Brazil (BE compared to teams outside the big 4) ... it would be too modest to consider ourselves as huge underdogs after 1 loss in a friendly ... Belgium at full strength could face very worthy opponents (either we'll be slightly favored to win or they'll be) while there will be plenty of teams that are perceived to be weaker too.

    PS usually players get rewarded for showing excellent form at club level ... most likely Wilmots will start doing this after winter ... if we're lucky the likes of KDB, Defour, Vermaelen, Alderweireld, etc. will either improve at their current clubs or make excellent transfer/loan choices.
     
  7. Blondo

    Blondo Member+

    Sep 21, 2013
    #7 Blondo, Nov 15, 2013
    Last edited: Nov 15, 2013


    The same could be said of BEL - COL ... nah Pekerman came with a decent squad, they deserve respect for a nice win and even seen from a Colombian POV Belgium isn't a lost cause, e.g.:

    - According to colombiareports.co: "Los Cafetoros" won "thanks to Colombia’s prince of soccer, Radamel Falcao, Victor Ibarbo, and a bit of good luck".
    - Semana.com considers Colombia's first half as one to forget but still thinks that Colombia passed its exam against "one of Europe's best teams".

    "Wasteful" is the most frequent word used in the press to comment on Belgium's performance, e.g.:

    - The Guardian's title "Colombia's Radamel Falcao and Victor Ibarbo make wasteful Belgium pay" is an example amongst many others. It however points out the strong Belgium first half and underlines the "revamped" defence good performance during these 45': "Belgium, with a makeshift defence as a result of injuries to Vincent Kompany, Nicolas Lombaerts and Daniel van Buyten, had little trouble keeping Falcao in check during the first half". But Falcao's opening goal changed the game as "Belgium looked increasingly vulnerable after the goal and Mignolet was forced into action moments later".

    - Bleacher Report made a similar analysis: strong first half, good defence, missed opportunities. They also insist on Belgium's strong but unlucky final quarter with Fellaini and Mertens hitting the post. According to them the best rated Belgian players are Meunier, Vermaelen, Witsel and Fellaini. Just too bad that Meunier made a crucial mistake. BTW here are Goal.com's ratings.

    - According to thenewstribune.com, although "Falcao was denied for much of the game", he "continuously weighed on the defense and directed his team with passes and instructions" and finally "highlighted the absence of injured Belgium captain and central defender Vincent Kompany, as he cut through the offside trap". Other men to be spotted were "Belgium's top striker, Christian Benteke, who had two great chances, but his recent lack of club form showed with two poor headers" and "Hazard who could impress his Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho in the stands with several lightning moves but a decisive pass was lacking".
     
  8. Hert

    Hert Member

    Jul 26, 2010
    Club:
    RSC Anderlecht
    I thought it was a good performance. Seeing that our most important attacking player (KdB) is in horrible form and we still managed to create 100 pct chances against a top team (which the other out of form player missed). The first goal came from a mistake from the debutant at RB, who's not playing in that position that long.

    This game gave us confirmation that we can compete with the teams just below the top 4.
     
  9. Gorando

    Gorando Member

    Anderlecht
    Belgium
    Mar 12, 2008
    Belgium
    Club:
    Juventus FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Belgium
    I'm sick of this wastefulness... Even in most of our qualifiers (despite the positive results) we haven't been clinical at all. We don't need to peak in november but if we at least want to survive the group stage it's of vital importance that Benteke/KDB/Hazard will be in top form come next june.
     
  10. Blondo

    Blondo Member+

    Sep 21, 2013
    IMHO Italy is ranked 5th ... you can argue about this yet I feel there's a gap between the top 4 favourites and the teams outside the big 4 who are grouped more or less tightly together ... instead of 6th, 7th, 8th, etc. I'd be inclined to use decimals to show how tight games would be between these teams. If our first loss in a year ... not even in a competitive match ... would mean that we're an underdog now, then my evaluation would have to bounce all over the place with every game.
     
  11. Belgian guy

    Belgian guy Member+

    Club Brugge
    Belgium
    Aug 19, 2002
    Belgium
    Club:
    Club Brugge KV
    What concerns me more is that there is no real idea behind the attacking play. When you watch Germany, Spain, Holland, there are recognizable patterns on the field. Belgium only seems to improvise. That might be enough against smaller nations, but we should be better positionally by the time the WC arrives.

    What makes it even worse is the fact that our U21 are further along in this department. They too are wasteful in front of goal, but their attacking positioning is already better than the senior teams.
     
  12. Hert

    Hert Member

    Jul 26, 2010
    Club:
    RSC Anderlecht
    I agree, look at the plays when Hazard makes it to the opposing goal line and then look who's positioning himself to receive the cross/pass. The positioning is really poor.
     
  13. Blondo

    Blondo Member+

    Sep 21, 2013
    When you think of Wilmots ... does fancy possession based football come to mind? His core philosophy seems to revolve around structured defending and blitzing fast counter-attacks ... Wilmots could surprise me but as I said in another thread I feel that he needs help ... it shows when we like to take the initiative instead of allowing our opponents to have deceptive possession. He's the best possible man manager for our team yet his resumé isn't a reflection of a tactical genius ... a very short stint at Schalke (cut short because he earned a seat in the Senate) and he didn't last long at STVV. Compared to Van Gaal or Hiddink he's out of his depth.
     
  14. pepinointer

    pepinointer Member+

    Mar 12, 2007
    Santiago de Compostela
    Club:
    Millonarios Bogota
    Nat'l Team:
    Colombia
    mertens should be starter
     
    Blondo repped this.
  15. Gorando

    Gorando Member

    Anderlecht
    Belgium
    Mar 12, 2008
    Belgium
    Club:
    Juventus FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Belgium
    #15 Gorando, Nov 17, 2013
    Last edited: Nov 17, 2013
    I haven't seen much of these fast counter attacks though. Counter attacking means a lot of players running towards the box as soon as possession is gained. but we hardly ever have a lot of players in the box, usually only 2 or 3.

    We mostly have a bunch of slow, sterile possession because we have no depth on the wings. Both Hazard & De Bruyne come inside to get the ball and make few runs on the wings without the ball. We create a funnel that is easily to defend against. and we also don't have the attacking fullbacks who can reach the backline. Our midfield consists of basically 3 defensive midfielders with Fellaini playing a bit higher up the pitch, but he doesnt make much runs into the box and he slows down the game if he has the ball.
     
  16. Blondo

    Blondo Member+

    Sep 21, 2013
    When we played Croatia in Zagreb Lukaku netted 2 ... I'm using this game as it's the best indication of the plans for Brazil2014 available to us at the moment: it's an away game (we won't be playing in BXL this summer), it's recent and it was against a team that probably will earn a WC berth in their next match.

    In that game we stuck to deceptive pressing and blocking off direct passing & dribbling lanes and in doing so we disfigured the Croatians attacking structure. Especially when the Croatians pushed with too many players forward, they could have been annihilated on the counter more than twice. Yet this works best when our opponents commit players towards breaking down our defensive shape ... in those cases you can clearly see our opponents tendency of giving the ball away only to be vulnerable on the counter-attack ... and then we're willing to push forward with plenty of players in search of goal. Our ability to reek havoc, to steal the ball and quickly transition into attack has often proven to be a success = we flourish on the counter (which also is to the merit of our wide players and midfielders) while we struggle to break down an organised squad after building up play and creating chances against a team that had time to transition into their defensive shape.
     
  17. Hert

    Hert Member

    Jul 26, 2010
    Club:
    RSC Anderlecht
    I agree with you Blondo but the fact of the matter is that most teams won't push forward enough against us to fully utilize our counter-attack. Croatia only did it because it was a must-win game for them.
    But seeing the quality of the players we have we should be able to break down defensive teams more easily (although we have improved, see the England game in 2012 for example, we created nothing). There definately should be more people in the box when we do manage to roll up a flank, infiltration from midfield is poor and often in the wrong place. I also think Benteke should stay up front in the centre more, he tends to wander off to the flanks giving us no presence in front of goal. He is big and can win an aerial duel with anyone so he should be in front of goal imo.
     
  18. ra_sriniketan

    ra_sriniketan Member

    Jul 5, 2010
    It should be that kind of a game against Japan.
     
  19. Belgian guy

    Belgian guy Member+

    Club Brugge
    Belgium
    Aug 19, 2002
    Belgium
    Club:
    Club Brugge KV
    One of Fellaini or Defour needs to make way for a more creative player. Heck, I'd even be in favor of putting Thorgan Hazard at the top of the midfield triangle.
     
  20. Belgian guy

    Belgian guy Member+

    Club Brugge
    Belgium
    Aug 19, 2002
    Belgium
    Club:
    Club Brugge KV
    We also should try to attack with the fullbacks more, the one time we tried it, it lead to a good chance for Benteke.
     
  21. Hert

    Hert Member

    Jul 26, 2010
    Club:
    RSC Anderlecht
    If only we found a very good right winger that actually plays like a winger (doesn't cut inside all the time) with a good cross. Then Debruyne could play nr 10. I think that would be perfect.
     
  22. Blondo

    Blondo Member+

    Sep 21, 2013
    An inverted winger these days should still be able to act as a pure winger too (making the pitch wide & narrow at will and preferably be able to do this on both flanks when looking at what the situation demands) ... both Mirallas and Mertens have a tendency to cut inside and I don't think Bakkali is an improvement on the right at this moment (undulates too much but that's normal given his young age ... untill he has had a chance to unlock his potential, I'd reserve judgement) ... an in form KDB seems to be the one that provides the best crosses. However at some point Wilmots should think twice about constantly rewarding KDB ... he has been in a slump at club & country ... usually he's the best in our squad at taking corners yet in the previous friendly our 'airforce' wasn't lethal in these situations because they seldomly were reached.
     
  23. Belgian guy

    Belgian guy Member+

    Club Brugge
    Belgium
    Aug 19, 2002
    Belgium
    Club:
    Club Brugge KV
    I suspect that if his situation is still the same as now come March, he will no longer feature for us.
     
  24. ra_sriniketan

    ra_sriniketan Member

    Jul 5, 2010
    It will be a big mistake!
     
  25. Blondo

    Blondo Member+

    Sep 21, 2013
    I've been tracking it a bit and it doesn't look good Chelsea-wise ... even in training he seems to be in a rot. OK the smoke usually is much bigger than the fire ... but by now the signs that point towards a loan deal are getting harder to ignore ... while there are plenty of suitors to choose from. We'll know soon enough ... either KDB moves closer to Mou and possibly gets another crack before January or he looks at a club where he's a certainty and tries to settle in asap. Most likely KDB was one of the reasons Mou came to BXL ... even having managed Chelsea before I think Mou is reluctant to take a punt on KDB during his first season back ... much 'cheaper' to check out his performance against Colombia. KDB is (one of) our most valuable players when he's in top form ... besides his ability in set pieces/corners we need him in open play too ... it's a bit 'chicken or egg': what's the point of players flooding into the box without crosses coming in - making crosses while you don't have a target. Wilmots needs him for the entire 90 minutes to break down an organised opponent with different attacking tactics yet in his current form he's starving other players that have a fair chance of getting into the Brazil2014 squad ... if we like to get the most out of these Nov. friendlies, I'd keep KDB on the bench against Japan (he has to know by now how important he is to Wilmots + why distrust Mertens).
     

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