Belgium has
qualified for next year’s World Cup in Brazil and Marc Wilmots’ team is
considered to be a dark horse for the tournament. Although Belgium has finally qualified
for a major tournament for the first time in 12 years, it’s not surprising. With
the stars they have at their disposal, the Belgian fans might be witnessing a ‘golden
generation’ of their own.
Current
Belgian coach Marc Wilmots was still playing for his country when the Rode Duivels controversially lost 2-0 to
Brazil in the round of 16 at the 2002 World Cup. Wilmots himself had a
legitimate goal disallowed during that match. Fast-forward 12 years and the
Belgians look like a team on the rise.
The term
‘golden generation’ can get thrown around quite regularly. England claimed to
have one during the 2000s and the same term was used for Portugal and the
former Yugoslavia in the 1990s. Other teams have had that tag placed on them
but it does seem that Wilmots basically has two players for each position in
his squad.
In goal
Belgium can rely on either Liverpool’s Simon Mignolet or Atletico Madrid’s
Thibalt Courtois. Both goalkeepers are currently playing for teams that occupy
top spot in the EPL and La Liga respectively.
Mignolet is
25 years old and Courtois is only 21, and if we are to believe that most
keepers reach their peak later than on-field players, both Mignolet and
Courtois have bright futures ahead of them.
Defensively
the Belgians have some quality players but they are perhaps better known for
their ability to go forward than to actually defend. Tottenham Hotspur’s Jan
Vertonghen can play as a centre-back or a left-back and Atletico Madrid’s Toby
Alderweireld can play at right-back or centre-back.
Manchester
City’s Vincent Kompany is arguably the most reliable of Belgium’s centre-backs.
He can defend, he has leadership skills and he possesses good ball control.
Others such
as Arsenal’s Thomas Vermaelen and Bayern Munich’s Daniel Van Buyten aren’t
regulars at club level now and their ability to defend is questionable, perhaps
even lacklustre. Both defenders are best known for their aerial threat at
set-pieces.
Aside from
them, there is Hannover 96 full-back Sebastien Pocognoli and Zenit St Petersburg
centre-back Nicolas Lombaerts who have been capped regularly by Wilmots. At
this stage, it looks like Vermaelen will be confined to the bench, especially
if he can’t break into an in-form Gunners side.
In midfield
the Belgians don’t have a genuine playmaker or someone who can is known to play
in the hole. Eden Hazard can play behind the strikers but he is best known as a
winger. Recently Wilmots has used Marouane Fellaini as an attacking midfielder
in a 4-2-3-1 formation.
Belgium does
have defensive midfielders or central midfielders who are technically skilled such
as Zenit’s Axel Witsel, Spurs’ Moussa Dembele and Fellaini. The Manchester
United midfielder is probably the pick of the lot and there is more to him than
his massive afro haircut. He’s a great ball-winner but he is also great at
making runs late into the box and scoring goals.
If it’s not
them that Wilmots can rely on, he can also rely on FC Porto’s Steven Defour.
That’s pretty impressive if Wilmots doesn’t select Radja Nainggolan, who plays
for Cagliari in the Serie A. Perhaps Nainggolan would be better off at a team
like Inter Milan or Roma.
Regardless
if Wilmots uses the 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 formation, he has some excellent wingers
at his disposal. Chelsea’s Kevin de Bruyne and Napoli’s Dries Mertens can play
on the right-wing as well as Everton’s Kevin Mirallas. Spurs’ Nacer Chadli has
been playing recently on the left-wing but the first choice in that role is
clearly Eden Hazard.
Hazard’s
brother Thorgan has also won a cap but Eden could arguably be the best Belgian
player since Enzo Scifo. The Chelsea winger has won trophies with Lille and
with the EPL club and he is only 22 years old.
In the centre-forward
position, Belgium has two superb strikers in Aston Villa’s Christian Benteke
and Everton’s Romelu Lukaku. Both players are already goal machines in their
early 20s.
Perhaps that
is the one thing counting against the current Belgian side. There are quite a
few players in their early 20s and maybe Brazil 2014 might be too soon for
success. Once those guys reach their mid-20s, they could be very intimidating.
A lesser
concern is that Belgium rarely scores more than two goals a match but if
Wilmots’ team could score more than three goals in matches, it could be a more
daunting team to face.
There are
many players for Belgium who are playing in big leagues and for big clubs. Wilmots
calls-up very few veterans and there is an emphasis on youth. If next year’s
World Cup is a warm-up for this Belgian squad, Wilmots’ team might be a bigger
threat for the established powers in the future.
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