Needing a win to stay in UEFA Euro 2016 and prolong talisman Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s international career, Erik Hamrén made just the one change in Nice as the experienced Marcus Berg came in for Celta Vigo’s John Guidetti from the 1-0 loss to Italy.
Marc Wilmots was forced to bring start Radja Nainggolan instead of Moussa Dembele who was forced off with an ankle injury in the 3-0 win over the Republic of Ireland. Belgium meanwhile needed a point to guarantee qualification as the second best team from Group E.
Sweden didn’t really get going in the first half although it could have been so different had Berg buried a loose ball in the 5th minute following a Kallstrom freekick which fell to him kindly. Courtois saved sharply and Belgium proceeded to dominate the rest of the half without actually controlling the game. Sweden lacked any real quality to create much in the final third, although, Forsberg kept finding space in between the lines with Belgium lacking any compactness and organisation without the ball
Alternately, their best moments came when the trio of Hazard, De Bruyne and Carrasco would run at the Swedish defence during transitions and this led to the fullbacks being restricted in their forward forays.
Issues with Belgium’s Play
Marc Wilmots has been widely criticised for not fulfilling the potential of this Belgium side which has undoubtedly been their most talented ever. The players don’t seem to have been coached the basic organisational tactics and even while going forward don’t appear to have coordinated movements. The gap between the front four and midfield was far too much at times on Thursday and it is highly unlikely that they won’t be made to suffer against an opposition featuring higher quality players. Too much was asked from the two 6’s as the formation turned into a wide open 4-2-4 while going forward.
Their construction of attacks suffered in the absence of Dembele who was sorely missed in midfield as his creativity and guile during build-up makes the team much more fluid. There were no connections between the lines in possession and relying on the individual quality of Hazard and De Bruyne seemed to be the only ‘game-plan’.
It is a testament to the fact that there is a lack of teamwork while going forward is the fact in 37 internationals together, De Bruyne has only set up Hazard for two goals while the favour hasn’t been returned even once. It is an astonishing stat considering the quality of the duo and further questions their manager’s approach.
As it was against Italy, Witsel & Nainggolan offered a minimal progression of the ball and as has been a feature of Belgium under Wilmots, most of their attacks originated from the fullbacks, predominantly the left back in this game position as they focussed almost all their attacks down that side.
Lukaku constantly kept dropping into midfield to offer support and then found it difficult to reach on the end of dangerous crosses flashed across the face of goal. De Bruyne was the man responsible on a number of occasions and as the half was coming to a close, a corner taken short by him was a whisker away from the far post though Isaksson got fingertips onto it which went unnoticed.
Meanwhile, the two midfielders barely circulated the ball between them and preferred to feed the three behind the striker. After the opening quarter of the game, there was a lot of interchange between the trio throughout the game with all three taking up positions on the left, presumably to attack Lindelof and curtail Larsson going forward simultaneously.
By half-time, Belgium had enjoyed more of the ball despite the flaws in their game. But their best moments came during transitions and perhaps picking teams off on the counter is what Wilmots has decided his approach will be in the tournament as the both of Lukaku’s goals against the Republic of Ireland came through that manner.
Second Half
The restart saw Sweden come out more determined to keep the ball and dictate play. This left the susceptible when they lost the ball and played into Belgium’s tactics but it was a risk they had to take. With Ibrahimovic dropping into midfield and the two Belgium centrebacks reluctant to follow him, Sweden found it fairly comfortable to break the lines through vertical passes and progress the ball as there was a lot of space in front of the defence. The central defenders would go long while the midfielders would play into feet. Also with a lack of pressure on the backline, Ekdal and Kallstrom had enough time on the ball and were the top two passers on the night just behind Hazard. rOne of Sweden’s best moment came early on in the half when Ibrahimovic threaded an excellent through ball for Berg to race onto and but for a poor first touch, the striker would have been through on goal. With Forsberg in the left halfspace also finding space and linking up with Ibra, Sweden were gaining somewhat of an ascendency with even the two fullbacks pushing up. Shortly after the hour mark, Zlatan did have the ball in the next following a Larsson cross and Berg flick on but it was ruled out rather curiously as a high foot when there appeared to be none, or an offside though the linesman didn’t seem to have flagged.A noticeable aspect of Sweden’s game was the lack of their crossing. With two tall forwards, their height and strength were rarely utilised by deliveries from wide areas. Instead, most of the crosses were lumped rather horizontally and dealt with comfortably by the Belgian centrebacks.
All but one of their deliveries from set pieces were below par and considering their presence in the box from dead ball situations, they should have troubled Belgium more.
Belgium expectedly were finding more space as the half progressed with their numbers 7 and 10 responsible for tormenting the Swedish defence by leading counter attacks by switching positions at will and making it impossible for their markers to get tight to them.
Lukaku was guilty of spurning a golden chance having been released by a raking pass from De Bruyne. Isaksson stood tall to deny the Everton man but he couldn’t do anything about Nainggolan’s strike which took a deflection following another such break which involved Lukaku coming deeper and Hazard skinning his man to set up the Roma player on the edge of the box.
Zlatan Tries His Best but Falls Short
The few bright moments Sweden had came through the man who will go down as a legend in the history books. He almost unlocked the Belgium defence, had a goal ruled out and had a decent attempt from a free-kick which was well saved by Courtois. His six were the most shot by a player in both teams although the free-kick attempt turned out to be his only shot on target in the entire tournament. However the lack of quality around him was telling and at the end, he failed to make a significant impact in his final major tournament. This marked the end of the great man’s international football career.
Substitutions
John Guidetti was brought on for Berg just after the hour mark to play while the other two changes were also like for like, Durmat replacing Larsson on the right wing and Zengin coming on for Forsberg on the opposite flank. Ironically, these two had a part to play in the concession of the goal. Durmat was beaten far too easily by Hazard as if he were invisible and then Zengin turned his back while attempting a half-hearted block on Nainggolan’s shot.With 20 minutes remaining, Wilmots replaced Carrasco with Mertens and the Napoli winger proved effective cutting in from the left wing. The final change was Benteke for Lukaku and the Liverpool striker had a golden chance to double the lead after Hazard had broken forward in thy dying minutes to tee him up only for his shot to be well saved.
Man of the Match – Kevin de Bruyne
De Bruyne was head and shoulders above anyone on the pitch wrecking havoc in the Belgium defence a number of times. His vision and then execution of those sumptuous passes remains one of the best in the game today and he deserved to get a couple of assists on the night. He also headed Graquist’s header off the line in the second half just before the opening goal. Belgium continue to rely heavily on their number 7 and he seems to be enjoying the responsibility as one of their best two players.
Conclusion
It was a fairly open game with little both sides preferring to advance the ball quickly to its attackers and hoping for individual quality to prevail. Man for man, Belgium had the better players and were always going to create more as Sweden pushed for the goal which would have put them in the knockout round. However, they never looked like getting it and were killed off on one of the numerous counters. They didn’t deserve to progress as they hadn’t had a single shot on target before this game. It was a sad end to Zlatan’s international career and his brilliance couldn’t cover up for his side’s lack of quality.
As for Belgium, they find themselves in the easier half of the draw and should they overcome Hungary, a potential clash against Wales will stand in their way of a semi-final which frankly should be the minimum expectation from this bunch of talented individuals now. However, football has never been a game about individuals and as Italy showed, a team which is greater than the sum of its parts is likely to overcome them sooner rather than later.
