GROUP B PREVIEW

GROUP B - "The Big Battering”

Overview: Both of 2010’s finalists, one of the most capable underdogs have to play each other and significantly less talented cartilage crunchers Australia.

The unexpected is likely here, as this is a group where every minute of every game will count towards the outcome. While everyone is anticipating tonight’s Spain Holland, it might well end up being a messy affair with both teams not currently at their best.

In fact, if Chile would manage to top this group it would not be a surprise, as Spain look tired and worn out, and Holland have mostly a very new, very young squad, with Dutch supporters heavily concerned about an inexperienced and suspect defence.

With a lot of half-injured and half-out-of-form stars Spain could struggle, but so could Holland with a smidgen too many youths, however talented and capable, in the team. Chile have excellent potential, but some weaknesses including their very unorthodox and short defence. Australia are filled with unknowns, with their most recognized player, Cahill, playing out of his traditional position as a lone striker.

Those Australians love to give a tender bone massage to their speedier opponents, and the fact that their group is filled with fragile and technical precious crystal, we could see some heavy bruising.

The Big Questions:

Can Chile oust one of the two more established teams to progress?

Can Australia pull off a miracle and come away with both a point or two and the stealing of the World Cup hosting honours which have already been sold to Qatar?

Teams: (click on team for links to my or other previews)

SPAIN - "La Furia Roja"

Strengths: Experience, a tested system that still works and is still hard to beat, the leaders now were the supporting players four years ago, tacky-tucka, that fan Manolo who has been there longer than any of the players and often works harder during matches, raw class in a lot of departments. The team is very well gelled.

Possession play to its empirical definition. It still manages to control even the best opponents.

Weakness: Psychological and physical fatigue we talk of physical injuries but the Barcelona players for example have had the life sucked out of them this year, age and no replacement for people like Pujol, Diego Costa is likely overrated, weaker attacking line than in the past.

I especially argued the last two World Cups that it was finally the addition of good attackers that gave Spain the World Cup, but this lineup is burned out and too old, del Bosque puts too much trust in them. Spain have started showing serious cracks, and even if the floodgates don’t open this month they might soon.

Likely formation: 4231 – tried and tested, but keeping big names on the bench

Coach: 9.9

Vicente del Bosque

You cannot give a lower rating, and you cannot just stop trusting a coach that has already won everything… well he will go up to 10.0 If he manages even a bronze with exhausted Spain this time.

  

GK: 9.0 – in Casillas we trust(ed)

DEF: 9.1

MID: 9.8

ATT: 8.0

The star: David Silva is where all the Spanish hopes lie now, Iniesta and Xavi have already done their part, but it’s David Silva who was a keynote for Manchester City this season and is now the main actor for Spain.

Crafty, goal scoring, on top of the world game at the moment, tired

The defender: The two headed monster called Piqueramos, hat impregnated Shakira at the exact same time as getting Spanish defender of the year with Real Madrid. This beast keeps tight shop in the Spanish defensive zone, and manages to extend its skilful tentacles all over the pitch.

Experienced champions, skilled and tactically-wise, play well together, could prove fatigued

The midfielder: Xavi and Iniesta have been conquering the world for years together, and they still have what it takes. Will their conquistador act be successful in Brazil? Very possibly yes, but will it be enough?

Tired, masterful

The attacker: Diego Costa the naturalized Brazillian is very highly praised, and his imminent move to Chelsea from Atletico Madid is grabbing headlines. He is not however the reason for Atleti’s great season, and in my opinion too much praise is coming on him too soon.

Tall and has some skill, fighting and determined, overrated (but with Spain behind him that might prove insignificant)

The captain: Iker Casillas was mistreated by Real Madrid in recent years, and the powerful team even used their media influence to tarnish his reputation. His fantastic personal influence on any team, and his ability to take failure on the chin make him a great successor for the Spanish captaincy. At 33 this is set to be his swan song.

Shot stopper, leader, determined

The prospect:

Koke – the real engine that brought success to Atletico Madrid this season, he won’t get much time with Spain, but can be relied upon to bring great energy and play when he does.

Hard working, decisive, dynamo

César Azpilicueta – the only other “young” player in the Spain squad he had a great season with Chelsea after a great season with Marseille, and although he is only 24 he has been among my favourites for years.

Technical, hardworking, assists frequently, physically weak at times, needs more experience.

HOLLAND – “Oranje"

Strengths: Several historic players that have missed their chance a number of times already, underrated young, hungry players, a good, functional footballing pedigree that needs to finally achieve something, a strong bench.

Weaknesses: The spectre of massive failures in the past, especially at the last Euros lurking, an unconfident, inexperienced defence (although I don’t believe they are as bad as some say), the team still is gelling, a mediocre string of goalkeepers comparing to past greats.

Some players had very bad seasons with clubs.

I agree with van Gaal that the absence of underrated Kevin Strootman is a major absence for Holland, as for his midfield intelligence there is no replacement, yet. Van der vaart will be less missed.

Likely formation: 433 has been van Gaal’s preferred, 4231 the crowd’s, he has deployed 3-5-2’s but rumour has it he will switch against Spain to 532 tonight.

Coach: 9.1

Louis van Gaal

… is a talker, and since much of it is in Dutch the world doesn’t understand all of it. He is a tough coach, with touch, idealistic training methods that saw him fail at Bayern Munich for instance. His peak was perhaps in the 1990s but I still believe in van Gaal as one of the great football minds of our generation.

He has won a lot as a manager, but much of it long ago, and after this, his second spell with Holland he is heading to Manchester United in an attempt to recreate that team following the legacy of Alex Ferguson.

His idealism and tactical genius makes him expect too much of some players, and this could be a dangerous combination with a young Holland, even though much of these players have been trained from an early age in systems he authored.

GK: 7.8 – all to prove

DEF: 7.8

MID: 8.2 – last-chancers and kids

ATT: 9.1 let’s not kid ourselves by being too negative

The star: Arjen Robben won’t be around and at top speed for much longer, and he has often been the one performer for underperforming Holland at major tournaments. This could be his last major hurrah and he knows it, his wing-play will define things, and some goals would help.

Classic player, goal scorer but inconsistent, shoots too much, can be selfish, highly dangerous and a game changer. Just when you think you know Robben he surprises you.

The defender: Ron Vlaar is the one true experienced central defender in Holland, and having slaved away at Aston Villa he is accustomed to getting a lot of work back there.

Strong, decisive, consistent for club, this could be a chance to expand on his growing but still small reputation.

The midfielder: Wesley Sneijder has rediscovered form and joy at Galatasary it seems, can this emblematic midfielder repeat his great World Cup last time out?

Pressured, brilliant, free kick and pass genius, classic player, dropped his level and fitness in recent years.

The attacker: although I could mention Huntelaar or Kuyt I want to focus on powerful forward Jermaine Lens who has scored so many goals, and many off the bench for van Gaal’s Dutch team.

Strong, penetrating, masters the channels and beats offside. Could develop into a complete forward if he had a bit more team and creative play. 

The captain: Robin van Persie is coming out of a poor club season, and he has a last chance to prove that he has the personality to live up to his massive well-earned mercenary reputation for his country as well.

Technical, surprising, world class even if many don’t like him, fragile and injury-prone, playing with pain, perhaps lacking motivation.

Strange choice for Captain looking from the outside, but since his quality speaks for itself and Holland’s performances rely on him maybe this is understandable.

The prospects:

Jordy Clasie – is one of the big prospects of this World Cup at 22, because van Gaal is doing wonders with him for the national team. His passing is phenomenal and he is very dangerous with the ball. Where he cannot fill Strootman’s shoes is off-the-ball.

Superb passer, creative, small and weak, determined

Memphis Depay – a tricky dribbler with terrible finishing, but fun to watch like so many Dutch youngsters before him this might be his break.

Tricky, craft, can play on either wing, couldn’t shoot a ball into the ocean.

Bruno Martins Indi – Feyenoord has trained some good defenders in the past, and after a gap in time Indi might be the next generation of that quality.

Strong, fast, inexperienced, mistake prone, could get lost against major opponents.

CHILE - "the other La Roja"

Strengths: Several world class players, some more fantastic underrated players, speed, flair, many pages in their trick book, a desire to live up to their inherent quality, underdog status, versatile players

In Chile players really each master three or four positions traditionally, no less so for the national team, this helps with tournaments should they do the impossible and progress

Weaknesses: suspect defence, imperfect attack, the 2010 team was better, injuries and fatigue for key players, lack of tall and physically strong players, some big talents were left at home in favour or tamer more experienced players

A lot of experimentation by Sampaoli is likely a bad thing but could prove sheer genius, as those things happen you know.

Likely formation: 4-3-3 that turns in 3-4-3, imagine a lot of dynamism and a lot of versatile players and you get something really interesting tactically. Chile play the classical Ajax or Barcelona formation that Dutch van Gaal was one of the fathers of.

Everyone talks about different aspects of Chile, but the most interesting thing is that the defence could consist of two short, fast, converted defensive midfielders at any point in the group. They are good players, and good defensively, but it must be nerve-racking to be a Chile fan watching.

Coach: 8.2

Jorge Sampaoli (Arg of Italian origin)

The jury is still out, but he seems to have bags of tactical knowledge, I want to rate him lower because I am undecided even though I watched many of Chile’s games, but I think he might be a really good coach about to reveal himself.

GK: 7.8

DEF: 7.8 – a lot of central defenders out

MID: 9.5

ATT: 9.5 on the wings, 7.5 in the middle

The star: Arturo Vidal has been superb for Juventus these past seasons, but injury could rule him out of the first game against Australia (a great place to pick up another) and maybe even beyond.

Decisive, everywhere on the pitch, contributes with goals, superb passer, tempo-setter and ball-winner. Yellow-card prone.

The defender: Gary Medel is a converted defensive midfield, who I value tremendously for his tackling and industrial hard work. He has in the past been prone to tempermental play, cards and sendings off.

Superb tackler, fast, aptly nicknamed “pitbull,” tireless, ball winner and counterattack starter, can’t score, and referees often hate him. A frustrating season with Cardiff City.

The midfielder: under Sampaoli “el Mago” or “the Magician” Jorge Valdívia has found his form with the side again. He has a big reputation in Brazillian league football for being very creative and decisive despite his lack of physical positives.

Superb passer, tempo setter, makes decisive assists, slow and weak, sometimes inefficient and wasteful under pressure.  Capable of stunning play.

The attacker: it has to be Alexis Sánchez, who for me was the only high point of Barcelona’s season, yet he cannot be appreciated despite 21 goals and 15 assists this season. This has to be his World Cup, and with him in form down the left or right Chile can achieve very much indeed.

A lightning-fast man-muscle, decisive, goal scorer, technically savvy, underrated although highly-rated, unmarkable, determined, tired

The captain: In Claudio Bravo Sampaoli trusts. Sure, he has been great for overachievers Real Sociedad over the past two seasons, but just in case his replacements are good. He is determined and a big game player, who can stop one-on-ones well in case the improvised defence screws up.

Brave, determined, commanding, in good form.

The prospects:

Felipe Gutiérrez is a skilled winger and attacking midfield who is still largely unknown, but could be on his way to a bigger club or league soon.

Eduardo Vargas failed to get the time to prove himself at Napoli, but became a major fixture at Valencia on loan this season. He is only 24, but with a huge South American reputation at decisive goals and fantastic play and goals in important games he could prove a key secret weapon for Chile.

AUSTRALIA – "the Socceroos"

(More honestly the “brain bouncers” would work than any allusion to fuzziness and kangaroos)

Strengths: Freshness like the smell of burning sheep meat, no pressure (except for false Australian expectations), almost no stars remaining, speed and strength, determination in bags

Weaknesses: Lack of quality, lack of experience, lack of stamina from not playing in top leagues, the two star players Bresciano and Cahill are very old and tired, mistake-prone

Likely formation: Surprisingly, the coach is insane and likes to try attacking and possession football and plays a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 for the World Cup, at least they could go out with a  better reputation that their last boring defensive performances.

Coach: 5.5

Ange Postecoglu (AUS of Greek origin)

I am not giving him a low rating because his rhetorhic doesn’t impress me, or his intent on having Australia try attacking football is not respectable. He seems falsely overconfident sadly, and if he starts to achieve his experiment it will be a miracle and I will throw in my full support. At the moment thought, it seems rightfully insane to abandon great or once-great or good players with international experience like Schwarzer, Joshua Kennedy, Rogic, Wilkshire, Holman, Robbie Kruse, or Rhys Williams.

He seems to be taking decisions on bias and principle, not cold-hard logic. I would have definitely taken Schwarzer, Kennedy or Wilkshire. Australia qualified under Holger Osieck, but he was fired after a 6-0 demolishing by France in a friendly, and with him a lot of players were purged.

Australia is probably a madman’s crazy experiment, but since they are a real wild card, and there are some decent unknown players there something just might happen, but the chance is miniscule, and Postecoglu will prove the irrational genius instead of the mindless flop.

But honestly, I like that he is doing it for the sake of attacking football, maybe he simply represents a wonderful sense of realism that Australia has to market itself positively and be memorable rather than successful. His only experience is in the A-League, so we just have to wait and see.

GK: 6.5 – talented but untested

DEF: 6.0 – would struggle in many European second divisions, but traditionally physically strong

MID: 7.0 – I think better than on paper, some strong, tactical and disciplined players in there.

ATT: 5.2 – Cahill is a great if not old player but not a class attacker for such a high level, maybe a simple poacher or defensive striker role might work

The star: Tim Cahill has had a long career as a decisive goal scorer and match winner, but most of that happened years ago at Everton. I highly doubt the midfielder can perform as an effective attacker here.

Super-poacher, fighting, determined, good leader.

The defender: Alex Wilkinson is very highly rated in the Korean League, mainly because at 181 and and Australian build he is a giant-among-peers there, but he should be in over his head with a Dutch, Chilean, or Spanish attack.

Inexperienced, resilient, mistake-prone

The midfield: Mark Bresciano used to be a very succesful attacking midfielder in Serie A, and he is a consistent quality performer for the national team, although know he plays as a defensive midfield anchor.

Look for his good passes and long shot, he is getting very old and weaker, his stamina might not be there anymore, could crumble under a good press.

The attack: a medium performer in the 2.Bundesliga Mathew Leckie is a right or sometimes left winger for a 433, and at that level he is capable and hardworking, but only scores once in three games at best. He did have 9 assists in addition to his 10 club goals this season though.

Strong, determined, think traditional English talentless forward where grit and determination makes him look better than he is

The captain: Mile Jedinak is a charismatic, shy guy who contributed to keeping Crystal Palace up miraculously this season as captain. I think he is a real consistent and determined performer who can lead a team like few others, great choice, and might be a key ingredient if Postecoglu proves a genius not a fool.

The prospects:

all 170 cm of 22-year-old Tommy Oar who play for Dutch mega-giants Utrecht are actually underrated. Ok he only managed 4 goals this season, but this little unknown could be the second best winger, ok third best in Group B behind Alexis Sanchez and Robben. He is no great, but he looks good for Australia anyways, a player to watch out for because he creates goals for them.

Fast, determined, good balance, good team play, inexperienced and under-skilled, he might be going places though.

Find the schedule: here

The pick of the games:

Spain – Chile

18^th June - 20h CET – Rio

A great friendly clash in recent years, the Chileans have a thing for upsetting the favourites Spain regulary, and for disrupting Spanish control of the game effectively. This derby should be a cracker.

Spain – Holland

13^th June – 20h – Salvador

The kickoff of perhaps the only stadium that was worth building this World Cup, the repeat of last year’s final might prove to be an epic chess match between old men, but it also just might be a beautiful game with end-to-end stuff as well, especially if the Dutch score first.

The food table:

Australia with perfecting the simplicity of a barbecue win the group with 9 points drowned in not-so-bad wine

Spain with the crowd-pleasing tapas are just a point behind them due to arteries clogged with too much olive oil

Chile do ok with seafood, but the fact that it takes 3 days to cook their sea-snail or Molusco in milk leaves them with only a point

Holland, sorry Joe, chokes on friture and although the Indonesian fare manages to raise some smiles, it’s too little and too late.

The prediction:

Honestly if Holland and Spain play at even a middle level, then it all is down to Chile.

Australia surprising might happen, but so might Putin winning the Nobel Peace prize.

What is possible, within acceptable realms of probability, is that Chile might squeeze past one of the two favourites Spain or Holland, but that is still less likely than likely.

My game predictions, which I tried to be daring in, saw Spain faltering, and Chile and Holland going through. Now I was building up the courage to write that…

More likely predictions are a good number of yellow cards, a good number of desperate moments, and very close run at the end.

TEAM PREVIEW: BELGIUM

Belgium - "Diables Rouges / Rode Duivels"

Overview: As bipolar as having two competing languages in a country is, so the national football team has been a mainstay of unity in Belgium. Incredible performances in the 80s, in 1994 (where Belgium were unlucky in one of the best matches in history versus Germany) saw Belgium have twenty years of a major quality drop.

Now after two decades of footballing wilderness, a diamond generation (as in Antwerp’s traditional craft) of super-talents and mega-egoists seems to have found their flow, and not only convincingly qualified for the World Cup, but managed to end up with expectations of winning Group H and being the “dark horses” of this tournament.

Lack of experience and weight of expectation is more often than not a bad match…. What will the Belgians of 2014 be remembered for?

The sky is the limit, but in their perennial rain Belgians don’t see the sky very frequently….

The objective: Win Group H without breaking a sweat, then stun the World and given the honest national and international hype around the Red Devils win the country’s first World Cup.

Highly unlikely given the lack of personality and leadership of the Red Devil’s young stars to match their significant football talents.

Population: 11.1 million persons per square meter, another zillion living long-term without permit of papers, many of whom are Eurocrats.

Ethnic Groups: no two inhabitants of Belgium share a single ethnic origin, what does matter is the language of your Belgianness, which can be Arabic, English, Portuguese, Kikongo, Russian, Farsi, Nepali or Quechua.

Registered Football Players: 443, 383 – most of these bought their registration papers at the Gare de Midi vegetable market.

Registered Football Clubs: 2,058

Most Successful Clubs: RSC Anderlecht (Flemmish speaking team) of Southern Brussels has dominated heavily in recent years with 33 titles. Their youth academy is responsible for large parts of the national team, together with the other big-two Standard Liege(Francophone)10 titles and Club Brugge (very flemmish) 13 titles although the last of these has had a very mediocre decade.

All Time Top Scorer: Bernard Voorhoof and Paul Van Himst each racked up 30 goals during different eras.

Other players cam close-ish at getting to that record, but current coach Marc Wilmots although not remembered for being extraordinary came closest with 28 goals. He is also Belgium’s top scorer in World Cups with 5.

World Cup Performance: This is Belgiums 12^th World Cup. A superb 4^th place in 1986 stunned the World and Belgium have a habit of getting out of their group at least. 123 matches played, 68 wins, 24 draws, 31 losses. 234 goals scored and 135 conceded…. Not bad.

Continental Performance:  Much worse. Only 4 Euro-cup outings, with a runners up spot in 1980.

Olympic gold was won at the 1920 summer Olympics in Antwerp.

How they get their calories: In large quantities. If you are flemmish you say Stoemp (always improvised refired mashed potatoes with vegetables, should be served with sausages) is the national dish of Belgium.

If you are Waloon you say chicon aux gratin is the national dish of Belgium.

Or you could meet in Brussels to join the tourists for Moules Frites.

Tired of the food debate? Both Wa-loons and flemm-nuts will happily join you for one of the country’s 1100 beers…

The national beer:  Every Belgian village has multiple breweries, many are one man breweries. If you are monk you brew, if you are a politician you brew, if you are a taxi driver you brew. There is no national beer in Belgium, only pretend ones like Duvel and Leffe for export.

Belgian beer can be divided into amber ales

golden ales

dubbels and trippels (referring to the amount of fermentations)

Flemish reds

lambics…. Which are spontaneously fermented out of the Brussels air, and whatever falls into the open vats. Surprisingly light and fluffy!

Loads of others (at least 10 more categories) but for a real connoisseur the Saison are often considered among the best you can find in the world.

From the anthem:

Since French is the Royal language of Belgium, la Brabançonne has traditionally been sung in French, although other versions exist, and many Belgians still refuse to utter French words.

Poummm pa ppouuum pa ppooouum (classic slow-tempo 19^th century marching music)

O Belgium - O mother dear -

To you we stretch our hearts and arms,

With blood to spill for you, O fatherland!

We swear with one cry - You shall live!

You shall live, so great and beautiful,

And your invincible unity

Shall have for device immortal -

The King, and Law, and Liberty!

Shall have for device immortal -

The King, and Law, and Liberty!

The King, and Law, and Liberty!

The King, and Law, and Liberty!

Interesting that even in French, the father and mother seem to be the same entity. The stuff about unity is funny… given that the country has several times nearly broken apart in recent years.

How to blend in with the fans: Only sing when you are winning…. In the early 2000s when I lived in Brussels the national team fans were often outnumbered by visiting fans, this was during a bad era. Now with a real star-studded generation a new fan culture has emerged, and the Red Devil fans are back in force.

Whigs to look like Fellaini or Witsel are very popular, horns or pointy tails to allude to the devilishness of the red devil thing also.

But, except for that brave handful that keep waiving the black, yellow and red when Turkish, French, Polish, English and Scottish fans turned Brussels games into home games, you can pretty much walk in, in English claim to be Belgian, make up the name of some Brussels suburb that sounds like, Klavebeek for instance or Anselgem or Biervuren or la Namtoise (sorry if I mentioned a real one) and talk about hating the Dutch and that the Germans were bad in World War Two.

If you are Belgian and feel offended by this post, write a letter, translate it officially in each of the official languages, have it notarized in Brussels, Wallonia and Flanders, translate the notary seal into each of the official languages, and then drop it into the smaller of the two mailboxes on place Flagey in Bruxelles between the hours of 7 and 715 in the morning on the eight Tuesday of the first decade of the next millennium.

Making fun of Belgium aside, Brussels was a fantastic place to watch a World Cup, because no matter who won or lost every night there were street celebrations with a different flavour, from Ghanaians, to Croatians to Turks and Italians.

The stereotype: Hercule Poirot

What their neighbours know: The Belgium is a politically chaotic, rainy, rather flat, overcrowded country….

…. Where you can really enjoy an unhealthy quality of life for a bureaucratic set of years with malfunctioning public transport, with bus drivers that tell you to go to hell and smash you in the door after they covered you with a murky tidal wave of water.

I defer to this blogger who says it all well.

Just when you think it cannot be more spiteful, a kind, warm, intelligent and friendly Belgium person does something to make you accept the place and get nostalgic… the perpetual cycle.

How they qualified:

Undefeated, with only 2 draws, Belgium stormed a not-easy Group A with Croatia, Scotland, Serbia, Macedonia and Wales.

Home draws against Croatia and Wales were the only points lost, and the Belgians had only 4 goals conceded, making them one of the best defences in the world during qualifiers.

Interestingly enough 11 Belgian players shared their 18 goals scored.

The sad: 

That twats like myself constantly complain about a country which actually wasn’t all that bad for 7 years of their life.

The happy joy joy:

The current team, Belgium are an untested powerhouse by all standards… the energy is amazing, how far can they go?

An overview:

Belgium have quality in all areas of the pitch, albeit young, inexperienced quality in much of it. Wilmots has the team firing on all 11 cylinders, and despite the key injury of Benteke the team doesn’t look noticeably weaker.

Team Strength: Balance, and creative surprise. Belgium on paper is a rather complete team, but there are ways to destabilize and beat them.

Creative explosiveness, good team cohesion and the ability to drive a game after an early lead are real strengths.

Team Weakness: No depth in attack, with all the work falling on Lukaku is the obvious weakness. Behind the stars there is a quality gap, in such places as right or left back for example.

Belgium seem to have a hard time coming back from behind, although this hasn’t happened so often lately.

I will say that I think some of these stars are overpaid, overconfident, and thinking they only have to show up and win. Despite playing for big clubs, the Hazards, Vermaelens, Fellainis and team have won very little yet, and have much to prove in Brazil.

Will the tremendous pressure to succeed break the thin fibers of this talented team?

The song: Just when Belgium stopped being a World footballing super-power in the early 1990s so did a fantastic band emerge in Brussels that inspired an entire generation to first smooches, and disco-romance. Technotronics are the perfect cheerleaders for today’s Belgian team, especially after a couple of Tripple-fermentation 12 degree beers.

The Goalkeeping Department: 8.9

A Champions League finalist in Courtois backed up by a Premier ship runner-up in Mignolet. There is more depth, and Belgium has some great shot stoppers in the current generation, even though the likes of the talented third-choice Keon Casteels is injured and won’t make the trip. There are 3-4 good Belgian goalkeepers such as Torino’s Gillet, or Leuven’s Logan Bailly.

Belgium has one of the best, and very young at that, goalkeeping teems in the world.

Defenders: 9.3

Although the real reason is tactics, a lot of cover in midfield for instance, the young but already-proven talent in Belgium’s defence cannot get anything but a very high score. Premiership fans will express doubt and admiration both at Vermaelan or Vertonghen, Alderweireld failed to break into the Atletico Madrid first team, but no one will question the huge contribution of Kompany to Man City’s title, or van Buyten towards Bayern’s golden era.

Their weakness as a unit might be that they play better at lower tempo. But with only 4 goals conceded in qualification it’s hard to tell.

The middle: 8.1

Not more. A lot of talent, but also some rather unstable and inconsistent performers like Fellaini, Witsel, de Bruyne means that everyone is actually waiting for the brilliant national team outings to come to an end sooner or later.

The talent is there, but so are the egos and red-card tendencies. They can keep possession, win the ball and score, but they are not good at dealing with high pressure and adversity. Half of the midfielders are considered talented failures at big clubs.

The attack: 8.8

After Benteke’s injury the attack is predictable. Chelsea’s silky-technical wizard Hazard gets all the attention but the team doesn’t rely on him. This World Cup is a big chance for muscleman Lukaku to show that with a big team behind him he is good enough for any opposition, and that he can be consistent.

The silent force in Belgium’s attack is Napoli’s left winger Dries Mertens, who has an outstanding 111 goals in 342 club games…. And is a very consistent threat, although often undervalued.

The coach:  8.0

Before taking over Belgium simple-football playing Wilmots would have rated as a 6 or 6.5 at best in anyone’s books. He is no tactical genius, he doesn’t carry a big bag of tricks, but he has transformed the talented Red Devils from an overrated gang of overpaid primadonas to one of the world’s most promising second-tier teams.

Belgium’s third all-time top scorer is a forgotten overachiever in football. A legend to Schalke 04 and Standard Liege fans the tall, strong, technical un-gifted attacking midfielder made a humble but solid squeak in 90s European football with over a hundred goals for both clubs.

He went into politics, but after parliamentary anarchy resigned his French-speaking senatorial seat. He returned to football and served as assistant coach to the National team with two failed managers Dutchman Dick Advocaat and later Belgian Georges Leekens. Frustrated about underperformances, and a terrible team atmosphere the Belgian FA appointed Wilmots as interim manager, on a very temporary and highly criticized basis…. Needless to say he completely turned things around, and catalysed the team into a fearsome and effective unit gaining himself a permanent contract in the process.

Wilmots’ Belgium is still undefeated in ten competitive matches, although they have more lost than won friendlies during the same period.  Is Wilmots a great manager? He is not the only international manager to come into a coveted job with no real background, but this World Cup is also first and foremost a test of his mettle.

  

The Tactics:

An interesting 4321 like the one France won the World with in 1998. Capture the ball, raise the tempo, and keep up the intensity but score on the break. Catch-and-counter against better opponents is likely, but dominant possession versus weaker teams is the norm.

(alternative)

The extra midfield screening of the defence means that the attackers can perform their work easily, the counterattack is always a threat, and there are interesting late runs into the box often happening for the Belgians. In fact 11 different players have scored 18 goals for Belgium during qualifying, and goals come on the counter, during a silky and clever build-up, or from set pieces.

The midfield three is interesting, because it consistents of very balanced players who are both good at winning the ball and key battles in midfield, and a speedy passer in Porto’s Defour who is probably the least well-known standard starting player in the squad.

Everybody knows…. Eden Hazard. He is a masterful player, and although you see his speed of movement live much more than on television, he is a game changer that always demands special attention from the opposition. Unlike other star players though, the Belgian team doesn’t seem to rely on him as much as all that for victories. His passing, dribbling and eye for goal are off course more than a value added, and Brazil 2014 could very well be a chance for Chelsea’s talented attacking midfielder/winger to write his name in to football history’s glory books.

Should be more famous….  Despite really nasty red cards and intentional injury to other players early in his career Axel Witsel at 25 is a top central midfielder. After success with Benfica, he was tempted by big money to Zenit St.Petersburg where he has not been stellar under pressure.

He is a real mainstay for Belgium, with super tackling, unproven but true long-range shooting ability, and a good ball distribution Witsel is one of the core names on the Belgian teamsheet, and reliable rumour has it he is high on van Gaal’s Manchester United shopping list for next season.

No one has heard off…  Divock Origi is the son of Kenyan international Mike Origi. A big, awkward player he comes in to the team as a possible sub for Lukaku with the absence of Benteke after scoring a modest 6 goals for Lille this season. Like Lukaku he can be technical, but can also have an awful first touch from time to time. His size, speed and power, as well as an incredible leap to add to his 185 cm are his biggest assets.

Unfulfilled talent: Kevin De Bruyne failed at Chelsea and had a public spat with Mourinho. 9 appeareances and only 1 assist gave him very little time to prove himself, despite a stunning 10 goals and 11 assists on loan to Werder Bremen. On January 18^th 2014 Wolfsburg swooped in with 18 million pounds and rescued him, he has rewarded them with 3 goals and 8 assists.

He is also the top Belgian scorer in qualifiers, with 4 goals. De Bruyne is a key man for Belgian, whether in the starting lineup, or more frequently on the bench.

Still going… the Bayern Munich defensive rock, Daniel Van Buyten is well over his controversial mistake-prone days. But footballing professionalism, bags of experience at the highest level have made him a survivor both with Bayern and with the National team under various managerial changes. At 36 he has 78 caps and 10 goals to his name, and is an experienced mainstay of the Belgian team.

Born in the French-speaking beer-capital of Chimay, he played more from the bench for Bayern this season in his 8^th season with the Bavarian super-club. The former Manchester City and Marseille man is likely to bow out after this season, can he add a memorable World Cup performance to an already prestigious, if not up and down, career?

The heart of the team…. Captain Vincent Kompany was a very key man in Manchester United’s title campaign, and a pivotal force of defensive stability and offensive contribution for Belgium during their undefeated qualifiers. At 28 he is hitting his prime, and he is as important to the team as Wilmots in his captaincy role.

Born in Uccle, Brussels, the son of a Congolese immigrant father, and a Belgian mother Kompany is a true Bruxellois.

The goalscorer.... Romelu Lukaku is another player who Mourinho seems to have severly underrated. He went on loan to Everton this season to bag an excellent 16 goals, more than any Chelsea striker managed, adding to his 17 on loan at West Bromwich Albion last year. With Cristian Beneteke out, Belgian fans will await his repeat performance to Zagreb, where he embarrassed the Croatian defence twice to qualify Belgium for the World Cup.

Powerful, always focused, he is a real poacher, and his physical presence makes him an important tactical element in the team.

The young star… Adnan Januzaj is in his breakthrough season, and the youngster’s superb play in Moyes’s Man Utd this season has been one of their few high points. A speedy, technical winger and attacking midfielder the 19-year-old was born in Brussels but eligible through family to play for Albania, Turkey through grandparents, Serbia due to his dad’s army papers, and England due to long-term residency.

In May 2014 the long-term controversy ended and the 4-professional-goal boy wonder, who might also prove overrated in the future after only 35 top-flight games chose to play for Belgium. He might still get cut from the Belgian team, simply due to the fact he is competing with many other players for the same spots.

In bad form this season…. Marouane Fellaini was born in the heart of middle class Brussels in Etterbeek to Moroccan parents, although he likes to poze and talk as a gangsta. A great season at Everton, saw Moyes bring him to United as basically his main signing, but he has failed to find the net, and failed to find the starting lineup in the embattled team.

Fellaini is important for Belgium, as he is big, scores aggressive goals with all parts of his body, is superb as a target for set pieces, but he also has a temper and attitude problem that could boil over if not carefully managed.

In great form this season…. Dries Mertens is always in great form, and the short (1.69cm) winger ends up being the secret weapon of every team he plays for, Napoli this season where he was among the best in Rafa Benitez’s team with 10 goals and loads of assists from left or right wing. Look for him to pull goals out of nothing, as he has scored on average a goal every three games, many from outside the box during his excellent professional career.

Keeper Thibaut Courtois has been a main man for one “dark horse” already this season, as he ended up really getting noticed with Atletico’s Madrid’s overachieving championship season. 

This is his third season on loan at Atletico, but this season will see him being fought over by half of Europe’s biggest clubs including Atletico and Chelsea, because he is considered nothing short of the World’s best young goalkeeper at the moment. If he stays focused for Belgium, his already sizeable price tag could shoot up more.

Candidate for discovery of the tournament…  Kevin Mirallas is another Belgian player whose excellent last 4 seasons with Olympiakos and Everton could mean he really makes a name for himself in Brazil 2014 if his performances carry on. He is a flexible winger who makes runs on both flanks, and scores many goals for club and country with a powerful shot. Sometimes he can shoot too much, but given the missiles he launches it’s understandable.

Recognized players left out… Roma’s highly-rated Radja Nainggolan lost his first team place and got left out of the squad this season, 

while Christian Benteke and his fast-paced goalscoring could possibly end up very missed by Belgium this summer.

The prospect of tomorrow… Thorgan Hazard is Eden’s younger brother, but some expect him to be even better in the coming years. 

As an attacking midfielder he scored the most goals in the Belgian Pro League with 18 this season, and won the footballer of the year award. Despite this he has been left in the store window by Wilmots and will not travel to Brazil. Football’s legendary sets of brothers like the Laudrups or De Boers have been joined by a new dynamic duo. Chelsea hold his papers, although he played on loan at Zulte Waregem this year.

Worth mentioning: Thomas Vermaelen, Nicolas Lombaerts and Toby Alderweireld are all top-shelf defenders.

Vermaelen especially is used by football coaches to describe a new breed of flexible defenders with loads of technical ability, although he could leave Arsenal this summer.

Alderweireld was a key man for Ajax but failed to impress for Atletico Madrid as much this season, although his off-the-bench play was often decisive in the Colchoneros late-game defending. He nevertheless managed to score 4 goals from set pieces. He plays at right fullback for Belgium.

Lombaerts is a bit forgotten in Western Europe after, but he is an important factor in Zenit St.Petersburg start studded team. He travels to Brazil as a backup, but this is sheer luxury for any team.

Steven Defour is a key man for Belgium, although relatively unknown internationally. He is a true box to box midfielder, with 174cm of sheer hard work and stamina. He has a great passing range, and is excellent at regulating tempo for Belgium and Porto.

The team called up (24 one will be cut): 

Courtois (Atletico Madrid and Chelsea), Mignolet (Liverpool) and Bossut (Zulte Waregem) (GK)

Alderweireld (Atletico Madrid), Vermaelen (Arsenal), Kompany (Man City), Vertonghen (Tottenham), van Buyten (Bayern), Lombaerts (Zenit), Vanden Borre (Anderlecht), Ciman (Liege) (DEF)

Witsel (Zenit), de Bruyne (Wolfsburg), Fellaini (Man Utd), Defour (Porto), Dembélé and Chadli (Tottenham) (MID)

Lukaku (Everton and Chelsea), E.Hazard (Chelsea), Mirallas (Everton), Dries Mertens (Napoli), Divock Origi (Lille), Januzaj (Man Utd) (FWD)

A great team moment: 

The 2-1 away win to Croatia in Zagreb which qualified the Belgians and saw a Croatian coach fired.

A legend:  There are several but Enzo Scifo who’s midfield quality was at the top of world class. The midfield wizard had perhaps his best days with Monaco 1993-1997.

Group H: 

Algeria (June 17th) in Belo Horizonte should be beaten, but should not be underestimated. An overconfident Belgium could be surprised easily here, because Algeria can both defend and score, and are in very good pre-world-cup form.

Russia (June 22th) is what many neutrals would call “the deciding” match of this group, although in truth it’s equally important for the Belgians. I expect a Belgian victory here.

South Korea (June 26th) in what shape will Belgium be when they come into their last match? South Korea works hard and runs fast, will Belgium take them seriously enough though? 

Pre-Tournament Friendlies:

Sweden in Stockholm June 1^st – should be a morale booster with a weak and old Sweden.

Tunisia in Brussels on June 7^th provides a great preparation match for Algeria, in perhaps an even tougher opponent.

United States on June 12^th is still to be confirmed, and seems like a bit much of an injury risk.

Belgium tied Ivory Coast 2-2 in March, and dispatched Luxembourg 5-1 on May 26^th.

Prognosis: 

Belgium should do well in World Cup 2014, but at least one French or Dutch style drama in the team is possible given the collection of personalities, although Wilmots really seems to have a handle on things.

Group H is one of the easier groups, but not as easy as it looks, and although Russia or Algeria are the most likely challengers it’s not impossible for Korea to prove a surprise package.

Can Belgium play themselves to the level of the great 1980s teams? Yes.

Is third place or more unachievable? No.

Will they? Let’s all pile on the pressure of expectation and see what happens.