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 said that he wanted Lombaerts’ flexibility and ability to take the ball out of defence.
With a full house roaring them on, Belgium started strongly and within four minutes they took the lead through Genk’s Marvin Ogunjimi – his fourth goal in four international starts. For about 15 minutes, Belgium ran the game with Jan Vertonghen in particular looking classy and confident on the ball.
Almost imperceptibly though, the game began to swing Turkey’s way with Emre Belözoğlu, once of Inter and Newcastle United, marshalling troops in midfield; rather like Paul Scholes in his pomp. As a result, Belgium were left chasing shadows. This control and composure on the ball paid off; Turkey attacked down the right through Arda Turan and Vertonghen – so cool until then – slipped and the resulting cross was slotted in by Trabzonspor’s Burak Yilmaz. And that basically was that! Turkey controlled the rest of the first half and Belgium were left trying to hassle them, with Timmy Simons putting in a hard-working shift in front of the back four.
At the break, Leekens withdrew the unfortunate Vertonghen – who had almost repeated his error later – and sent on Arsenal’s Thomas Vermaelen. He sealed up the left-hand side of the defence but Vertonghen’s attacking prowess was missed. Ogunjimi seemed lost without his Genk partner in crime Jelle Vossen and was continually overshadowed and overpowered by the Turkish central defenders: Servet Çetin (1m 93) and Serdar Kesimal (1m 86).
With 30 minutes to go, Leekens decided that enough was enough and took off Eden Hazard, to be replaced by Dries Mertens. To be fair, Hazard had not performed to the level he has consistently shown a Lille and Utrecht’s Mertens has gained a reputation as a player who can change a game when coming off the bench. Hazard walked off and completely ignored Leekens and the media once more sensed an “issue” between the two men.
On the pitch, Mertens had an immediate impact. A dynamic player, he got involved, running at the Turkish defence. Seeming to lift the rest of the team, Mertens turned superbly in the area, only to be upended by Turan.
A penalty it certainly was, but with the crowd holding its collective breath, Standard Liege’s Axel Witsel blasted the ball over the bar. It later transpired hat Simons had been due to take the kick but had passed the duty onto Witsel as the veteran was suffering from a slight groin strain. Ogunjimi and Vossen – a very late substitute – both had chances to be heroes but it was to no avail. The whistle was blown after 94 minutes and the crowd – except for the Turkish corner – were silent.
With Turkey being just one point behind Belgium with a game in hand – and three home matches – it looks like Belgium’s quest to reach the 2012 European Championships has received a mortal wound. After the match several Belgian players said that they were still in the contest and were going for nine points from their last three games. As one of the games will be in Germany, it would seem to depend on their host’s mood at that time.
Still, Belgium has a young side and it can only improve. Kompany was again excellent and it’s to be hoped that, together with Leekens and Marc Wilmots, the Manchester City defender (for surely he will be made captain in the long-term) can lead his side to success in the future. That could be without players like Van Buyten and – not quite so quickly – Simons; that should not be an insurmountable problem with Marouane Fellaini and Vermaelen waiting in the wings.
Turkey looked more like the finished article and Emre Belözoğlu was an inspirational captain who led from the front. Turan has received rave notices – although he did not stand out on the night – and with Nuri Sahin and Hamit Altintop hopefully returning from injury, the team could be worth watching – or wagering on – if they reach the finals.
As an aside, I met a tabloid journalist at the match. Interesting I thought, checking out a game that did not impact England’s standing. “What’s the Mail On Sunday doing here”? I asked. “Guus Hiddink; Chelsea” was the reply. ‘Nuff said.