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Belgium's final XXIII

Goalkeepers

Thibaut Courtois (Atletico Madrid - on loan from Chelsea)
Simon Mignolet (Liverpool)
Sammy Bossut (Essevee) - to replace the injured Casteels

Defenders

Vincent Kompany (Manchester City)
Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham Hotspur)
Thomas Vermaelen (Arsenal)
Toby Alderweireld (Atletico Madrid)
Anthony Vanden Borre (Anderlecht)
Laurent Ciman (Standard)
Nicolas Lombaerts (Zenit)
Daniel Van Buyten (Bayern Munich)

Midfielders

Moussa Dembélé (Tottenham Hotspur)
Nacer Chadli (Tottenham Hotspur)
Axel Witsel (Zenit)
Kevin De Bruyne (Wolfsburg)
Steven Defour (Porto)
Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United)

Forwards

Eden Hazard (Chelsea)
Adnan Januzaj (Manchester United)
Dries Mertens (Napoli)
Divock Origi (Lille)
Kevin Mirallas (Everton)
Romelu Lukaku (Everton - on loan from Chelsea)

 

What does Belgium normally play? A 4-4-2?

Just based on club performance, if I had to "hazard" a guess, Belgium's starting XI would be:

Keeper: Courtois

Defenders: Vertonghen, Lombaerts, Kompany, Vermaelen,

Mids: Witsel, DeBruyne, Fellaini, Defour

Forwards: Hazard, Lukaku

Is this right? Way off?

 

Usually it's a 4-3-3 ... could look like this:

Courtois
Alderweireld, Kompany, Vermaelen, Vertonghen
Witsel, De Bruyne, Dembele
Mirallas, Lukaku, Hazard

 

Mirallas? Really? I rate him, but didn't think he started. Also, Dembele, starts ahead of Fellaini? I guess they are pretty close, but it seems like Fellaini brings more to the table . I dunno, maybe I missed Dembele's better matches.

 

Mirallas has club chemistry with Lukaku and had a fine season (just got injured near the end) ... Mertens impressed at Napoli but could end up as an impact sub ... Januzaj probably will see some action too as a luxury sub ... even Hazard could be warming the bench if he doesn't pull his weight ... like every manager, Wilmots looks for players that are in form, top fit and who work well as a collective.

Dembele, KDB & Witsel have convinced Wilmots in the Sweden friendly that they're a viable option ... likewise for Fellaini, Defour & Witsel in earlier ties ... it's looking like Witsel and KDB will be starters, joined by one of Dembele, Fellaini or Defour ... again Belgium isn't a team of 11 players but of 23.

PS against Tunisia Wilmots will use yet another line-up ... personally I would have preferred that he went with the same XI in every friendly to increase chemistry.

 

Agree. No one will run the table in this group. But Russia and Belgium will advanced. Algeria doesn't have the fire power and Korea has been bumbling around for the last year or so, a lot of inconsistency and only beat out Uzbekistan in qualifying due to goal difference which is shocking seeing as Russia or Belgium would have run the table in AFC qualifying.

 

Have you actually seen Russia play lately? It ain;t pretty.

 

Algeria has no firepower? lol. That's about all they have. Their defense and keeping is another story.

Algeria's attack has been the one bright spot, even with the B team on the field. The attackers haven't even been as intense as you'd like and they are still creating about 7-9 clear cut goal scoring chances a game in their friendlies.

Currently one of the few teams to win all their friendly matches since March too.

 

With all due respect, when's the last time you watched Algeria play? It's a pet hate of mine, people who comment about teams that haven't seen play in maybe 4 years. And with Algeria it's even worse because everything about us has changed; our manager and the majority of our players (even from the CAN 2013 to now, there have been majour, major changes). If you had seen Algeria play recently you would know our defence is in fact our weakness, and our attacking play is our strength.

What's worse is you have journalists making the exact same assumptions? For people like us, commenting on forums, I don't think it's a big deal (although I personally would never comment on a team I haven't at least seen play 3/4 times of their last 5/6 games. Only then can you make a judgement of the current ability of a team). But for journalists to be doing the same is really poor. They need to do some research.

 

And just to be clear, I'm an Algerian fan, so I'll put my hands up and say I'm bias. We have a good team who deserve much more credit in my opinion. Vahid has done a tremendous job and we play some good football. I'm 99.99% certain that we will not play the most negative football in our group (from what I've seen of Russia in their last few games, that will probably be from them. However, they are very well organised, and that style of play will probably suit them). I'm not saying we will get out of the group, but we're right in there with a real chance.

 

Algeria now Africa's highest ranked team in the FIFA ranking. Not that it matters, but though I'd mention it.

I myself must say that I was very much against Algeria at the World Cup, as since Morocco 1998 North African countries have been a disgrace to African countries at the tournament. They have really convinced me. They may or may not progress, but I believe that at worst they'll be a very entertaining side to watch.

p.s. Would love a France vs Algeria 1/4 final That would be epic.

 

@DZfennec @DzFooty @nyer et al.: for our opener, I'm expecting that Algeria will show little ambition going forward, will be soaking up pressure and trying to hit us on the break ... do you expect Algeria to have a go at Belgium in an open game?

 

Zahzah, you don't know how much time I spend day dreaming about that semi-final. It would be an epic match. Chances of us getting there are slim, but who knows? We could be THAT team that shocks people and gets to the Quarters, this time around.

 

@Blondo. We've played two friendlies so far, Armenia and Romania. Against Armenia, we played an attacking 4-2-3-1 while against Romania we played a 4-3-2-1, with Medjani, who is normally a CB, playing as a DM (Vahid has used this system a few times). For me, against Belgium, we will adopt the latter system, while for the other two games we will probably adopt the former (obviously depending on what results we need).

In yesterday's match against Romania, we sat back a little deeper than normal, not pressing from the front quite as much as we normally do. Romania had 67% Possession and 5 shots, 1 on target. We had 33% Possession and 16 shots of which 6 were on target. That for me highlights the game plan against Belgium, sit back, let them have the ball, and break quickly. In the press conference, Vahid and the players said this was the tactical plan that was set out, maybe indicating that Vahid foresees the Belgians domination of the ball and so has laid out a tactical plan to counter it.

Whatever system we play, I'm convinced both teams will score in that opener. Having said that, if we defend like we did against Romania (yes we only conded 5 shots but, especially in the opening 25-30 minutes, Romania got in behind our defence quite often) then Belgium will just score too many goals for us to have a chance. We need to tighten up defensively and continue on the same path in terms of our attacking play. We still haven't seen the best of Feghouli in the last two friendlies and if we can get another friendly before the World Cup that would be a big bonus, because players like Bentaleb and Mahrez, who will be key to us performing well in this World Cup, need a couple more games with the rest of the squad as they're new players for us.

Finally, we know Belgium are a very good team with very good players. I've said this multiple times, not on this forum, but if Belgium play at 100% then we're in trouble. That might be called pessimism or a lack of ambition, but I call it realism (and the same can be said for Belgium against South Korea or Russia). What I am hoping for is seeing the pressure get to Belgium. Belgium are expected to get out of the group, probably in first place. Anything less would be a major disappointment. As you all know with the way Algeria have been covered in the media going into this tournament, there is absolutely no pressure on us. If Belgium turn up nervous, we'll be there to capitalise.

 

@Blondo. Specifically on your open game point, sorry didn't mention it. To open up against Belgium would be stupid on our part. Our defence is our weak link and so giving space for the likes of Hazard to dribble one on one against our defenders would be suicide. This doesn't mean we will be 10 men behind the ball, camped in our own half. Don't be surprised to see us pressing from the front, and our attacks will be quick once we get the ball.

A balance needs to be sought for, in the Belgium game more than any other for Algeria, because of the World class attacking players you guys have.

 

Sorry, I mean't "that Quarter final" above (specifically France vs Algeria). Would be huuuuge for us.

 

Unsure that Belgian players will suffer more from nerves than Algerian players ... our XI (and subs too) have been acclimatized in the big leagues and European competitions ... also don't forget the core of our team reached the SFs at Beijing2008 while a young guy like Hazard thrives under pressure. Expectations in Belgium aren't as huge as those expressed in foreign media ... the fans and, more importantly, the players are hungry but nobody is losing sleep ... surviving this tricky group is viewed as a must and I'm confident we'll do whatever it takes. I don't care about 1st place in this group ... could even imply the roughest path possible, i.e. R16 vs Germany - QF vs Argentina - SF vs Spain - Final vs Brazil.

 

The algeria-Romania match was broadcasted in belgium.
So it was the first time I could watch Algeria (already did with Russia and South Korea)
To be honest, the two best footballing teams of this group are Algeria and Belgium. There is speed, technique and imagination in Algeria.
The main problem is the way the defence move or react to fast rythm changes. Belgium - Algeria will be an interesting match but it will be very difficult for this defence, for belgium create changes by accelerating, changing rythm and reaction to bad positionning.
The second place could be decided by the Russia-Algeria match and while I think Algeria has better quality they will have to wait for Russia to come to them before using their speed and better technique. If Russia is overconfident and rush it they could cry (but Russia is experienced so we will see).
This group is more interesting than I thought (except for South Korea which seems to me like a shadow of their former team)

 

Something that could be a factor for Algeria-Belgium is the 1pm local starting time for the match. While Belo Horizonte isn't one of the hottest venues, it's not one of the cooler ones either. Match time temperature will feel like about 31C (86F) with the humidity, and probably on the field another two or three degrees hotter than that. Probably an advantage to Algeria, although Belgium could have done a lot worse with the venues.

Belo Horizonte: High TempAfternoon 25 Humidity 56 (Dew Point)Real Feel 31

 

Really we'll also start talking about the weather ... smh.

 

Not sure it matters in this case, as Algeria is a Mediterrenean country and most of the players were raised in France.

 

There isn't much of an advantage as you may think. Most of Algeria's players grew up in France. It's pretty much even. I'm sure Belgium's players have better fitness.

 

They must play a lot of qualifying matches, ANC matches etc., in hot and humid conditions, right?

 

Did you watch the Confed Cup? Shake your head all you like, but FIFA is planning mandatory water breaks at several of the venues after the conditions experienced at the Confed Cup last year. Del Bosque said last year it was "inhuman" to play a 4pm match in Recife, and that was at 4:00, not 1:00.

 

It's so interesting to have you say that against Romania Algeria played in 4-3-2-1 because that is not what I saw yesterday. (There's some discussion about this match in the BS Korea section: http://forums.bigsoccer.com/threads/fifa-world-cup-2014-in-brazil.1972801/page-86 )

In my view Algeria was consistently shaping up as 4-1-2-3 in their attack, with Medjani as the anchoring def mid in front of the two CBs with the other two mids (Bentaleb and Taider) playing in front of him but tucked in, and the 3 attackers (Djabou, Soudani, and Fenghouli) in front of them and providing width to the attack. And much of your attack went through the left side, with your LB Ghoulam positioned upfield and linking up very nicely with Djabou (who's clearly very talented).

In defense, Algeria's shape was 4-1-4-1 with Medjani guarding the central space between the two lines and sometimes even dropping between the two CBs to help out against the two Romanian central attackers. Overall, I think you are being too harsh on your defense. Other than the first 20 mins or so, I thought Algeria completely stifled the Romanian attack, especially in the 2nd half. And frankly, I'm suspicious of the 33%/67% possession stat. I thought Algeria dictated the tempo and flow of the match.

I would be curious to see how Algeria will handle the Belgian and Korean attacks through the left side. Your RB position seems vulnerable.