Belgium- The dark horses at FIFA World Cup 2014

Simon Mignolet and Thibaut Courtois form a solid last line of defence

Kevin de Bruyne, Kevin Mirallas and Adnan Januzaj are three players who are massively talented. Mirallas and Januzaj have been a revelation for their respective clubs this season. Their attacking prowess will definitely make them a force to be reckoned with. While Mirallas was clinical in front of goal, Januzaj is considered as one of the few bright spots in a dismal season for Manchester United, with his skills earning him comparisions to Cristiano Ronaldo.

De Bruyne on the other hand had a bit of a funny season as he found opportunities to play at Chelsea tough to come by which caused his career to take a hit. But his move to Wolfsburg has definitely helped his case, with some good showings for the German club earning him a national call-up. What will be interesting though to see is what kind of combination does manager Marc Wilmots opt for.

Move further upfront, and you will notice Romelu Lukaku who has had a wonder season at Everton. He was absolutely brilliant up front, getting key goals for his side and Belgium will be hoping for the same in the World Cup. A problem for Belgium though could be the lack of any viable replacements for Lukaku in case he gets injured. Dries Mertens can play as a forward but his best position is on the wing and Divock Origi is not exactly a proven International player and so and they will be hoping that the injury to Christian Benteke does not come back to haunt them.

But where Belgium do not lack substance is in the defence. A good solid back four goes a long way in ensuring a team’s victory and they will be hoping that their back four can deliver for them. Vincent Kompany is regarded as one of the best defenders in the world right now, and a lot of the responsibility is on him. Jan Vertonghen will be an able partner. Thomas Vermaelen and Toby Alderweireld as full backs will look to aid going forward but defensively too are solid players. An asset that Belgium have in this defence is the aerial presence that they will have in set pieces so do not be surprised if you see some goals coming from that area.

Goalkeeping is another department where Belgium have no worries because of Thibaut Courtois and Simon Mignolet. Both are very well sought in the goalkeeping market but expect to see Courtois featuring in goal ahead of Mignolet simply owing to him having a better season and a slightly better skill set. That doesn’t mean though that Mignolet is in anyway an inferior keeper and would easily find a starting place in most of the participating teams.

The only problem that Belgium face sometimes is the lack of proper link up in the team. The understanding between defence and midfield needs to be perfect. Also the temperament of the youngsters is going to be severely tested as it is very easy to crumble under pressure, but this is a team which has many seasoned and talented campaigners and a lot of big game experience which should hold them in good stead.

This World Cup is a great opportunity for Belgium to rewrite their own record and the history books. It is also a great opportunity for the quality players of the team to finally break through and achieve what they deserve. They have been drawn in Group H along with Algeria, Russia and South Korea and it can be safe to expect them to be able to get through the group stage without much difficulty and even the Quarterfinals shouldn’t be a difficult prospect but no one can’t predict what may happen after that. Yet it promises to be an extremely exciting World Cup for Belgium.