Euro 2016: Belgium vs Republic of Ireland - 5 players to watch out for

Axel witsel
Axel Witsel will be key for Belgium in this important game

3) Thibaut Courtois

Thibaut Courtois
The Chelsea goalkeeper would have to be on his toes to keep Ireland out

Thibaut Courtois makes the list solely because Belgium have had to depend on him time and again to produce the saves when called upon. Courtois doesn’t have the strongest defence in the competition and with Thomas Vermaelen not getting any younger, he has often had to go one-on-one with opponent attackers.

The Chelsea man made some impeccable stops in the previous match against Sweden out of which the Pelle header early in the second half was noteworthy. However, he couldn’t help his side win as the Belgium attackers put up an impotent display.

Courtois hasn’t had the best of seasons for Chelsea and will be looking to prove that he is one of the best around. His duty will be to organise his defence and have a commanding presence in the penalty box against the aerial threat of the Irish.

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