Not a great game but Belgium deserved to win. The goals came from defender Nic Lombaerts. Top players for Belgium were Axel Witsel, Eden Hazard and Dries Mertens. The USA competed well with several youngsters prominemt: Jose Torres, Kyle Beckerman and Bret Shea in particular.
Belgium – USA: match preview Belgium play the USA tonight with the team facing a baggage of media criticism. Last Friday’s draw with Azerbaijan was just the latest in a series of disappointing results. The current squad has been built up by that same media as the “Golden Generation” but with no results to speak… Read More »
1. Belgium has a young squad and a young team. Even with Timmy Simons starting the match in Azerbaijan, the average age of the team was 23. That shows a lack of experience. 2. No settled defence: in the eight qualifying games, the same back four has only started in two matches (the first two,… Read More »
Belgium play Azerbaijan in Baku tonight in a Euro 2012 qualifier. Despite the local team having defeated Turkey on the same ground back in October, nothing short of an emphatic victory for Belgium is expected. There have been a few complaints about the pitch from the Belgian camp but captain Vincent Kompany is insisting on… Read More »
As the draw takes place for the 2014 World Cup qualifying games tonight, it might be opportune to see what sort of team Belgium could put on the pitch, assuming that they qualify. In three years time, players such as Daniel Van Buyten and Timmy Simons will have hung up their boots. However, many of… Read More »
Belgium’s U19 squad plays Spain on Wednesday in their first match of the European championships. They are in a tough group, with Turkey and Serbia as well as Wednesday’s opponents. Belgian media reports have mainly highlighted two players: Marnick Vermijl, because he plays at Old Trafford, and Eden Hazard’s younger brother Thorgan – because he’s… Read More »
With a whole nation seemingly willing them on, Belgium failed to make the most of home advantage and could only draw 1-1 with Gus Hiddink’s experienced side. Georges Leekens had sprung a surprise by leaving Daniel Van Buyten on the bench and positioning Zenit St. Petersburg centre back Nicolas Lombaerts alongside Vincent Kompany. Leekens later… Read More »
Another three points for Belgium and a win that sent the crowd home very happy indeed. Leekens basically kept the same team, bringing in Nicolas Lombaerts and Jelle Vossen; changes that he had to make. Belgium started off slowly, got an early goal and then went to sleep for a while. Azerbaijan’s equaliser woke them… Read More »
It is a truth universally acknowledged that Georges Leekens has little time for players who feel they are more important than either the team or Georges himself. Back in October, Leekens left Eden Hazard sitting in the stands for the qualifier with Kazakhstan; the word was that Leekens and his assistant Marc Wilmots had not… Read More »
The Belgian ‘A’ squad has been making all the headlines this week following the 2-1 victory in Austria. The result has been seen as a breakthrough, as many people believe that Belgium has a “golden generation” that could compete for honours in the 2014 and 2018 world cups. Remarkably, it could be that of the… Read More »