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Belgium arrived in Russia, boasting of one of the most talented squads in the tournament. Two group games later, one can say that Belgium have done complete justice to the talent in their ranks. They opened with a 3-0 victory against Panama and continued their red-hot scoring form against Tunisia, outclassing them 5-2.
The Belgians have an embarrassment of riches in the attacking third while their midfield is one to be envious of. In addition to this, they have steady, proven defenders in their squad.
However, the first couple of games have also brought to light a few chinks that exist in the Belgian armor. While they are not major weaknesses, Belgium need to overcome these if they are to go deep into the tournament. If Belgium are able to tide over these difficulties, we might have new World Cup winners, come the 15th of July.
#3 Defend set-pieces better
Belgium adopt a zonal marking approach when defending from set-pieces. If played to perfection, this method is very effective. However, even a slight miscommunication leads to devastating consequences. In both their games, Belgium have faced problems defending set-pieces.
In Belgium’s game against Panama, Roman Torres, the Panama captain, got on the end of corners, more often than not. Despite having the likes of Alderweireld and Vertonghen, Torres was able to get a ‘run’ at the defence and this enabled him to win the first ball. The zonal marking is predominantly based on different ‘zones’ being assigned to defenders. This goes away from the practice of marking the ‘man’, with defenders rather looking at marshaling their ‘zone’. Hence, when the attacking player gets a ‘run’ at the defence, he is in a much better position to win the ball.
Belgium won’t change their marking approach in the middle of the tournament. Therefore, it is important for them to communicate more and patrol their zones more vigilantly. A possible solution could be keeping spare men to track the runs of the opposition’s best 'headers' of the ball. This would ensure that they do not get a free ‘run’ at the defence.
When the tournament reaches its climax, a scrappy goal conceded from a corner would have the potential to derail Belgium’s charge. Thus, it is imperative that they take care of this problem before it hurts them.
2. Guard against the Counter Attack
Belgium play the majority of their games on the front foot. With players like Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard, they control the game and keep piling pressure on the opposition. While they’ve attacked with a lot of flair, they have shown signs of being susceptible to the counter-attack.
Roberto Martinez prefers deploying a 3-4-3 system with Carrasco and Meunier functioning as wing backs. In this system, De Bruyne and Witsel operate as the Central Midfielders. Belgium have shown a tendency to commit too many men forward and this resulted in Tunisia getting a lot of joy on the counter. Though De Bruyne is a sensational midfielder going forward, he is not a defensive-minded midfielder. A case can be made for Moussa Dembele to start, but that would lead to Belgium changing a system that has worked wonders for them. Belgium can’t play with a back three and three central midfielders. There is also no point in wasting De Bruyne’s talent on the wings.
Hence, the only possible solution is to mix a little caution with aggression and ask Witsel not to commit too far forward. Witsel would then provide the ‘screen’ in front of the back three. With Witsel, the three Central Defenders and a wing back in defence, Belgium would have countered the threat of the ‘counter’.
In the later stages of the competition, Belgium would not want to get exposed on the counter and lose out despite controlling the game.
3. Play out from the back cautiously
Belgium have started with a back three of Alderweireld, Boyata, and Vertonghen in both their games. Boyata plays at the centre of the three and is usually the spare man when Belgium build play from the back. While Boyata is an established defender, he has shown signs of being erratic, when on the ball. Against Tunisia, he misplaced two passes within the space of a minute and a team better at finishing would surely have capitalized on these errors.
Hazard and Mertens like to drift inside while attacking. The wing-backs are then tasked with providing the width. When they play out from the back, the wing backs are too wide to make any meaningful contribution to the build-up. This leaves the Central defenders with no option but to pass it ‘between the lines’ to the midfielders.
Belgium face a potential Round of 16 tie against Senegal, a team that employs an intense press and has enough stamina to ‘press’ for the majority of the match. Against such a team, even a single stray pass can result in Belgium being put under pressure. Belgium have the luxury of calling upon Romelu Lukaku and they can use his height and strength to control ‘long balls’. This will provide them with a different avenue. Though Martinez likes his side to play out from the back, mixing things up, every once in a while, would keep the opposition guessing and work to Belgium’s advantage.
The last thing the ‘Golden Generation’ of Belgium would want is to see their World cup dreams get shattered due to their stubbornness to play out from the back.
