3 reasons why Belgium will lose their quarterfinal match against Brazil

Belgium's clutch 3-2 win against Japan in the Round of 16 is certainly in contention of the most entertaining match of this World Cup. Yet their celebrations will be short-lived as they now face mighty Brazil, who easily dispatched Mexico in the previous round and will be looking to win their 6th World Cup crown.

Belgium are themselves dark horses to win the tournament with their ' golden generation' in their peak years. So far in the World Cup, they have proven their worth with 4 wins out of 4 including a 5-2 battering of Tunisia.

Even with those wins, they have looked far from convincing in any of those games and with an opponent like Brazil, they can't afford any mistakes. Here are the 3 reasons why I think Belgium will lose against Brazil.

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#1 Yannick Carrasco's position

Belgium coach Roberto Martinez is often criticised for his team management, such as his decision to not to play Radja Nainggolan and not including him in his squads. Another such example is the player I will be talking about right now, Yannick Carrasco. The former Atletico Madrid man prefers to play as a winger but has been used as a wing-back by Roberto Martinez when playing for Belgium.

Due to his new position and the lack of experience in that role, he is Belgium's weakest link at this World Cup. Being a wing-back requires a player to not only participate in attack but also requires him to do his defensive duties. As Carrasco is a natural winger, he is good offensively but falters when it comes to defense. He has often got caught high up the field and thus leaves a big space in the defense for the opponent to exploit. Due to this, Belgium are vulnerable to counter attacks.

Even during Belgium's match against Japan, he was often caught off guard and Japan's Genki Haraguchi frequently ran into those spaces and caused the Belgium defense some trouble. But with Brazil, he will be facing Willian, who put in a man of the match performance against Mexico. With Willian's pace and his ability to dribble past defenders, Brazil will no doubt target Carrasco.

#2 Belgium's below-par midfield

Takashi Inui bossed the midfield against Belgium

Even though Belgium have had an amazing run in the World Cup, winning all 4 games, they have been relatively untested. Their games against Panama and Tunisia were more like practice matches and even though they let in 2 goals against Tunisia, they still looked extremely dominant. Their final group game against England was also not a good enough match, with both teams putting out much weaker squads and none of the teams looking for the win

Belgium had not been under pressure in any of these matches but regardless of the fact that they possess one of the best midfielders in the world in the name of Kevin De Bruyne, they don't have much talent in that area. He is usually partnered up with Axel Witsel, who is not the best defensive player and he also plays in the Chinese Super League which is not that competitive. They clearly lack a dynamic box-to-box midfielder, and Radja Nainggolan would have been perfect for this role but due to some disputes, Roberto Martinez refused to include him in the squad.

But their game against Japan was different. It was in this game that we found out how weak Belgium's midfield actually is. In the first half, Japan sat back and Belgium's defense was not severely tested. But it was in their second half that they were dealt with a major wake up call. Their midfield was not at all watertight and there were lots of spaces where the Japanese players could run into. That is why players such as Shinji Kagawa and Takashi Inui who are both quite fast had such success against Belgium.

Belgium will now face an even bigger task when they face Brazil, whose midfield is a lot younger, more creative and more vibrant as compared to the Japanese midfield. Belgium cannot allow the same mistakes to happen again as they will now face the likes of Phillipe Coutinho and Paulinho, who would love to exploit those spaces left by the Belgian midfield.

#1 Belgium counter-attacks will not work against Brazil

Belgium completed an amazing comeback by scoring a goal from a counter-attack

Belgium has a squad that contains fast and pacy players such as Romelu Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne, and Eden Hazard. This makes them especially lethal on the counter-attack. An example of this is Belgium's winning goal against Japan when Belgium counter-attacked following a Japanese free-kick in the dying minutes of the match.

But it will be much more different and much more difficult against Brazil. Brazil's first choice left-back, Marcelo, was injured during their last group match against Serbia and thus Filipe Luis replaced Marcelo in their Round of 16 match against Mexico. Luis is a much more defensive-minded left back than Marcelo and thus will prioritize defense more than attack. If Luis starts against Belgium, then he will be ready for any counter-attacks.

Another important thing that was noticed in Brazil's match against Mexico was that Brazil's center-Backs, Thiago Silva and Miranda, were not involved when Brazil were taking set-pieces. Instead of going ahead, they stay back in case of a quick transition. This was crucial for Brazil's defense and as both Mexico and Belgium are good on counter-attacks, expect Brazil to continue this defensive strategy and with both the center-backs in defense, Belgium will have a hard time trying to score a goal against a team that has conceded just 1 goal this World Cup.