Watching TUR - HOL before we kick off. Robben 0-1 ... Turks are starting to turn up the pressure. At 1:30 URU - ARG
... and 2-4. Come on Belgium ... my eyes wander more & more to SWE -GER ... and 3-4 Come on Hazard change that 0-0
Disappointing result really. We had a lot of chances but at this level you really should take them. The late Wales goal was truly a flashback to 3-4 yrs ago when this happened pretty much every game lol
We let in late goals against Croatia and Serbia as well. But we had the 2 goal cushions in both cases. Hopefully this will curb our enthusiasm slightly. Everybody in Belgium is getting wayyy ahead of themselves. We're not at Holland or Germany's level yet with our efficiency. Anyone else think that Alderweireld seemed to have some problems with Bellamy? A little disconcerting in my opinion given that he's going to face some really top-notch players at that position in Brazil. He needs game time and a proper right back competing for that position with him (NOT Gillet). On a side-note, if Januzaj is established in the Man Utd team in a few months time, hopefully he'll play a non-binding friendly with us to get a feel for the team. Would be a shame if a player of his talent would choose to represent another country. An attacking trio of De Bruyne-Januzaj-Hazard could potentially be world-class.
Had the feeling they weren't all that focused on the result ... rather looking for the perfect goal/showboating. Something Real had to "beat" out of Ronaldo ... he improved his efficiency a lot by not looking for a beautiful but a certain goal.
Yup. Good thing it didn't matter for our seeding, as that would have been a crap goal to lose a protected status over.
We had enough chances to win, but some of our finishing and decision making in the final third was near comical. Lukaku once again showed why Benteke should and will start once the WC comes around. He has another nine months to prove us all wrong. Mirallas had a good game in terms of involvement but his final ball was lacking throughout the game.
This tells an interesting story. The 29 shots of which only 8 were on target tells me that we often times settle for bad shots. The 1 goal from 8 shots on target tells me that we desperately need to work on our finishing.
Could it have to do with a different state of mind? Perhaps our forwards are more concentrated on the road because they know they will get far less chances whereas at home they assume they will get a boatload.
In the last game that definitely was the case ... they didn't seem all too bothered and expected that the ball would find the net eventually. Overconfident. Luckily in Brazil every game is an away game.
France & Sweden have a fair chance of ending up in that "special pot" (same procedure when UEFA pot contained 8+ NTs in 2006). These are the 2 unseeded NTs in the play-offs that seem to have the best odds to beat e.g. Ukraine or Greece. So besides it being impossible to end up in a group with the other seeded NTs (especially avoiding the big 4 - Germany, Spain, Brazil & Argentina) ... we also avoid that "special pot" UEFA team (the likes of France, Sweden, etc.). Of course Romania could also be in that special pot ... let's see who makes it out of the play-offs first.
What do you guys say if we had to go for a Benelux team? I think this would be a nice formation based on current form. Only worrying spot is the left back position. I'd rather see Vertonghen as central defender though but I'd guess he is still better than Blind or Pocognoli who both aren't exactly world beaters. Or do you disagree? We could probably be real contenders for the World Cup if we combined forces. Belgium's solid defense with Dutch flair and attacking power. ------------------van Persie-------------------- Hazard--------------------------------Robben ----------------van der Vaart------------------- ------Strootman------------Witsel------------- -------------------------------------------------- Vertonghen---------------------------Janmaat --------------Vermaelen---Kompany---------- -------------------------------------------------- -------------------Courtois----------------------
agree on everything except VDV. Sneijder would be my choice. even as a 2nd choice I would prefer De Bruyne who has been our topscorer and had the most assists.
In other forums such an idea would be considered too controversial and cause a flame war instantly (even that BeNeLiga idea can have the same effect). Had proposed it ahead of 2010 (when there was a lot of noise about the Dutch defense too) ... as far as woulda, coulda, shoulda is concerned ... together we might have beaten Spain. Looking to the future ... how are we ever going to fit all these young talents in? ... this one I had already made (that's why there are no Dutch youngsters on it). Of course you'd be able to build a stronger team when you're talent pool is increased ... for every Belgian citizen, there are about 8 Germans, 20 Brazilians, etc. Only in special circumstances has a small country lifted the cup (after a World War, Great Depression, etc.). In the last 63 years ... it has always been a big country that has been crowned World Champions.
Well, Sneijder is a curious case at the moment. Of course he is still world-class but his form lacks a bit and for some reason his chemistry with Van Persie isn't that great. VDV and Van Persie have a far better mutual understanding of each other. I wouldn't mind De Bruyne who is a excellent player but I think the experience of VDV gives him the edge. And yes, Belgium has the future. Van Persie, Robben, Sneijder, VDV are all in or near their 30's at the moment and we have to say goodbye to them in the next 4 years and to be honest, I don't see any Dutch talent who can fill their shoes. That doesn't mean we don't have any upcoming talent at all but if we talk about exceptional talents who can make the difference in matches then... no, I haven't seen them yet. That worries me a bit. At the moment I do think we are equally strong but in about 2 or 4 years you surely surpass us. But also keep in mind that great talent of now not always succeed. Yes, the big countries have indeed the advantage on us. But I surely would exchange our 3 runners-up positions for one winning World Cup final with a team mixed with fellow Belgians. LOL we would have horrible kits though, orange and red doesn't complement each other very well. But hey, who cares! It would give a great boost to our relationship.
You're right, Benteke will start if he's healthy. But I think the Croatia and Wales games showed Lukaku's strengths and weaknesses quite well. If you're playing a team that plays with 10 men behind the ball, Benteke is always the better choice. His hold up play and passing is far better than Lukaku's. But if a team is pressing Belgium up the field, Lukaku's directness and ability to speed away from a high defensive line is quite a good asset to have. Would be interesting to see what Batshuayi could do as well. Hope he gets a chance in the Colombia or Ivory Coast friendly. Loads of ability, different to either Lukaku or Benteke and lovely to watch as well.
Batshuayi combines many of the qualities of both Benteke and Lukaku. I wouldn't be too surprised if he ends up becoming our first choice CF a few years down the line.
Glad to see you have Witsel in there. Arno Vermeulen omitted him in his Dutch-Belgian team. I'd prefer De Bruyne in the VDV slot. I'd also put Lombaerts instead of Vermaelen.
Januzaj saga heating up, e.g. in: Flemish media: http://www.hln.be/hln/nl/14796/WK-2...ader-Adnan-Januzaj-boos-op-Marc-Wilmots.dhtml English media: http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11667/8975672 Ferreira-Carrasco seems to have made his choice and it's only a matter of time before he makes the transition from youth to senior NT.
Pretty big BS. Wilmots never named Januzaj, he just said that he would not give guarantees to any player.