Belgium World Cup squad: Do-or-die moment for Hazard's 'golden generation'

The general feeling among football fans is that this Belgium team still lacks the killer instinct and doesn't really believe in their ability to turn dreams into reality

The 2018 FIFA World Cup is around the corner, and all the 32 teams are preparing to give their best shot at the trophy in Russia. The team ranked 3rd in the FIFA ranking, unsurprisingly, would be considered a force to reckon with this World Cup, especially with a list of renowned players from renowned clubs the world over playing for it.

The road to Russia:

Belgium had a very easy campaign in UEFA's qualifying Group H which seemed relatively straightforward with competitors like Greece, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Estonia, Cyprus and Gibraltar. Apart from a rather unlucky home draw against the Greeks (they outshot them 17-2), the Red Devils didn't lose points and made its qualification certain long before the final fixture.

 

They scored a massive 43 goals in the process, Romelu Lukaku leading the way with 11 and Hazard adding six goals and five assists. Simply, the Red Devils marched their way to Russia with any challenge whatsoever.

The major strengths of the squad:

This is truly the golden generation of Belgian football and even the big stars of 1980s, like Jan Ceulemans agree that the current squad is the best ever.

 

There is remarkable quality and depth in every department of the Belgium squad, starting with Thibaut Courtois in goal. Jan Vertonghen, Toby Alderweireld and Vincent Kompany are top-notch defenders plying their trade in the leading clubs of England.

 

Belgium’s playmaking is controlled by Kevin De Bruyne, one of the best playmakers in the world, the brightest star of Guardiola’s ‘all-conquering’ Manchester City.

 

Kevin De Bruyne has enjoyed the best season of his career at Manchester City, scoring eight goals, providing 15 assists and delivering countless defence-splitting passes. Very few players in the world possess the Belgian's quality and vision. He is definitely one of the most pleasant players to watch out for in World Cup 2018.

 

Eden Hazard and Dries Mertens are outstanding wingers, with the latter starring as a centre-forward at Napoli in the last two seasons.

 

Captain Eden Hazard, on the other hand, is a ‘true number 10’ and his play in the attacking third has provided astounding success for Chelsea.

 

Romelu Lukaku is one of the most powerful and prolific strikers in the Premier League. The Manchester United forward can win games for any squad on his better days.

The weaknesses of the squad:

Belgium manager Roberto Martinez has one of the most promising squad on papers and has the luxury of picking a world-class line-up in every department.

Such firepower means they must be considered a legitimate contender to win at Russia, but such a squad still has some cons, one hang-up is that almost all the players of the current squad went to World Cup 2014 and Euro 2016 and failed miserably.
The starting-11 looked unbalanced and lacked a winning mentality. The poor tactics of the-then coach Marc Wilmots produced a team of poorly managed stars.

Martinez is a much more able tactician than his predecessor, but some of the major problems remain.

It is still unclear whether De Bruyne and Hazard can fulfil their potential together.

The Belgium squad also lacks a true left-back, which has forced Martinez to shift to a 3-4-2-1 system.

The mistreatment of Radja Nainggolan is stunning, especially after the Roma midfielder led Roma to the Champions League semi-finals, scoring twice in the second-leg of the semis against Liverpool.

Preferring Axel Witsel and Marouane Fellaini in the midfield instead of Nainggolan, is controversial to put it mildly. 

The heavily tattooed 30-year-old has played 30 times for his country and is popular with supporters, but his relationship with Martinez has often been strained.

The former Everton manager said: "It was a sad and difficult decision. He is a player with a lot of class and he was voted
Roma's best player, but I've made my decision for purely tactical reasons.

In Nainggolan's place, Martinez has picked 21-year-old Youri Tielemans, who has had a low-key season at French club AS Monaco.

Divock Origi, the Liverpool striker who has spent the season on loan at Wolsfburg, was also left out.

Manchester City's veteran defender Vincent Kompany is included, as is Barcelona defender Thomas Vermaelen, despite both being dogged by injuries this season.

Kompany picked up another injury during Belgium’s friendly draw against Portugal. The Manchester City captain left the pitch 10 minutes into the second half, after a challenge on Gelson Martins.

Vincent Kompany will have a scan on Sunday after suffering a groin problem during Belgium's goalless draw with Portugal in Brussels.

Belgium coach Roberto Martinez has named a provisional squad of 28, which will be whittled down to 23 on Monday. However, footages of 23 named mattresses being loaded up by a Belgian bedding company showed that goalkeeper Matz Sels, defenders Christian Kabasele and Jordan Lukaku, midfielder Leander Dendoncker and winger Adnan Januzaj will not be flying to Russia.

Their absence would not be a great surprise, and it would confirm the inclusion of some of the more fringe players in the squad, such as forward Christian Benteke or defender Dedryck Boyata, who was also substituted in the friendly against Portugal.

The Red Devils will also play friendlies against Egypt and Costa Rica before opening their World Cup campaign against Panama on June 18. Their group also includes England and Tunisia.

Going forward:

Belgium face England, Panama and Tunisia in Group G at the World Cup. The Red Devils should make it into the last 16 without any problem, but if they finish ahead of England and top Group G, Brazil could await them in the quarterfinals. If they finish second behind the Three Lions, they are likely to face Germany in the quarterfinals. Thus, the round of 16 will be a tough nut to crack and it is logical to predict that the Belgians would not go out at that point, just like in 2014 and 2016, but if they manage to overcome that hurdle, they stand a fair chance to win the tournament.

The general feeling among the Belgian press as well as football fans worldwide is that this Belgium team still lacks the killer instinct and doesn't really believe in their ability to turn dreams into reality.

All said and done, one can surely bet on the fact that this Belgian team will produce some memorable football in Russia.

Here is the 23-member squad of Belgium:

Goalkeepers: Koen Casteels (Wolfsburg/GER), Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea/ENG), Simon Mignolet (Liverpool/ENG), Matz Sels (Newcastle/ENG, on loan at Anderlecht)

Defenders: Toby Alderweireld (Tottenham/ENG), Dedryck Boyata (Celtic/SCO), Laurent Ciman (Los Angeles FC/USA), Leander Dendoncker (Anderlecht), Christian Kabasele (Watford/ENG), Vincent Kompany (Manchester City/ENG), Jordan Lukaku (Lazio/ITA), Thomas Vermaelen (Barcelona/ESP), Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham/ENG)

Midfielders: Yannick Carrasco (Dalian Yinfang/CHN), Nacer Chadli (West Bromwich Albion/ENG), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City/ENG), Mousa Dembele (Tottenham/ENG), Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United/ENG), Adnan Januzaj (Real Sociedad/ESP), Thomas Meunier (Paris Saint-Germain/FRA), Youri Tielemans (Monaco/FRA), Axel Witsel (Tianjin Quanjian/CHN)

Forwards: Michy Batshuayi (Chelsea/ENG, on loan at Borussia Dortmund/GER), Christian Benteke (Crystal Palace/ENG), Eden Hazard (Chelsea/ENG), Thorgan Hazard (Borussia Monchengladbach/GER), Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United/ENG), Dries Mertens (Naples/ITA)