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Having already booked their place at the 2022 World Cup, Belgium traveled to Wales for their final World Cup Qualifying fixture on Tuesday night.
Wales, who were in second position in Group E, needed to avoid defeat to play in the knockouts. In the end, they secured a 1-1 draw and kept their hopes alive to play in their first-ever World Cup finals since 1958.
Belgium, the top-ranked team in the world, were favorites to bring back maximum points from Wales despite playing without a few key players. Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku were not fit to feature, while the likes of Jan Vertonghen and Dries Mertens were left on the bench.
They still had plenty of quality on the pitch and scored the first goal of the match through Kevin De Bruyne.
The hosts were rattled by the early goal, but did well to come up with a reply just past the half-hour mark. Kieffer Moore pounced on Belgium’s defensive lapses to restore parity. Both teams tried their best to pull ahead in the second half, but came up empty-handed.
Despite being heavyweights, Belgium failed to impose themselves and were fortunate to extend their unbeaten streak in World Cup qualifiers to 28 games. H
ere are the five Belgians who failed to live up to their billing in the 1-1 draw with Wales:
#5 Charles De Ketelaere
Club Brugge winger Charles De Ketelaere got the opportunity to start against Wales on Tuesday night.
Playing in Eden Hazard’s position, De Ketelaere needed to do something extra special to present himself as a real contender. Unfortunately, he failed to drive the point home.
Thanks to Wales’ midfielders, the Brugge man did not get the service he needed to thrive. He tried to drop deep to collect the ball but to no avail. It was a disappointing night for the left-winger.
#4 Thomas Meunier
At Euro 2020, Thomas Meunier was a Fantasy League favorite. Not only was he a threat going forward, but he was also a solid defender. On Tuesday night, he failed to tick the latter box.
The marauding wing-back did his job going forward and linked time and again with the Belgian attackers. However, he looked a little rusty while defending.
Meunier often took his time to resume his defensive duties, which was risky given how dangerous Wales were on the counters. He got away in the end, but the outcome could have easily been a lot worse.
#3 Axel Witsel
Belgium international Axel Witsel is one of the most versatile midfielders in the world. The Borussia Dortmund man sits in the middle of the park and contributes equally in attack and defense.
On Tuesday night, however, he looked out of sorts and was rather ordinary on both fronts.
Thanks to Wales’ spirited display, Belgian midfielders were finding it difficult to play their natural game. Kevin De Bruyne was brilliant as usual, but Axel Witsel could not find his footing in the game.
His passing was impressive, but the 32-year-old could not push forward as regularly as he likes to.
Witsel only had a couple of shots against Wales on Tuesday night. Only one forced the Welsh keeper to intervene. Witsel was also fouled a couple of times, which led to him being a bit more subdued than usual.
#2 Divock Origi
With Romelu Lukaku ruled out, Liverpool’s Divock Origi got the opportunity to lead the Belgian attack. However, with Wales keeping tight at the back, the Belgian forward could not do anything of note.
The attacker tried to drop deep to fetch the ball from midfield, but that did not work out in his favor. He tried to hit the back of the net a couple of times, but could only work the keeper once.
Origi also lost possession a few times, which allowed Wales to hit Belgium on the break.
Origi picked up a foot injury just before the hour mark and was ultimately subbed off in favor of Dante Vanzeir by Belgium coach Roberto Martinez.
#1 Arthur Theate
Having already guaranteed their World Cup participation, Belgium could afford to shuffle the pack and bring a couple of fringe players into the fold. Arthur Theate was one of those experimental deployments.
The 21-year-old is generally a sure-footed defender but did not manage to bring that particular trait to the fore in his senior team debut.
The Bologna man played out from the back with confidence in the opening session of the game. Tragedy befell just past the half-hour mark, leaving the defender with a bitter aftertaste.
During a Wales attack, Theate had the opportunity to clear the ball from his area with a swift kick. He did dispatch a swinging kick, but failed to make contact with the ball.
Wales man Kieffer Moore sniffed out the opportunity and pounced right away to pull his side back level.
Theate performed well in the second half of the match but the first-half error turned out to be irredeemable.
