Steve_E

A shame we couldn't get the win, but I'm still very proud, and very happy with the way this World Cup has gone: the comeback victory against Japan and the knockout win against Brazil are two games that will be remembered for a very long time and I now have a life-long enemy (Mbappé and the French national team as a whole). About the game, think there wasn't that much in it. If we had scored first, perhaps we could have won it, but coming from behind we didn't really create that many opportunities to get that goal in the second half. In hindsight, perhaps we should have been a bit more adventurous and should have started with Carrasco at right back in place of Chadli, who got the ball a lot and was lacking in quality in the end (weird to have him take all of the corner kicks instead of De Bruyne as well). Especially as they don't really threaten that much down that flank either with Matuidi playing there. Dembélé was inserted because he's so strong on the ball and rarely loses it and yesterday he just kept dribbling himself into trouble and losing the ball. Don't think Witsel had a bad game, but you know a head of time that he's not going to pass it forward that much and that he can't shoot from distance. Fellaini mostly did his job shadowing Pogba, but should have gotten to the corner kick Umtiti scored from first. And once he had to move down to the left wing, Martinez should have subbed him immediately because obviously playing him there isn'tt going to help penetrating France's defensive bloc but Bobby let that go on far too long. De Bruyne had a lot of bad passes, we couldn't really involve Lukaku at all, Hazard was up for it I thought but he can't do it all by himself and yesterday he often had to come collect the ball in or near his own half and with France's entire defensive bloc still between him and the goal to get a touch. Hopefully this squad can still perform in the Euros two years from now, because a lot of the defenders and midfielders and Mertens will be past it for the next World Cup. Thankfully the Hazard, Lukaku, De Bruyne trio and Courtois will still be good to go four years from now and hopefully Tielemans will have progressed (he needs to play though!), but other than them, we might be needing to build a whole new core and there aren't that many talents waiting in the wings anymore it looks like.

I'm worried about all 23 of their players at the moment, incredibly nervous.

Honestly I wouldn't spend too much time worrying about this dude, don't think he's anything special.

I don't know whether to be jealous of England or not. I'm scared shitless for tomorrow's game against France, I fear an anticlimax, but ultimately that knockout win against Brazil and a semi-final matchup with France really are games you'll remember for decades.

I mostly haven't been a fan of Roberto during his time in charge of Belgium, but he did well with the changes he made for the Brazil game. Moving to a 4-3-3 when defending and a 3-4-3 when attacking, inserting the less talented but more dependable Chadli for Carrasco, adding defensive steel with Fellaini for Mertens while at the same time freeing De Bruyne. He waited too long to make subs, I felt, as we stopped threatening Brazil on the counter attack as time went on in the second half. I didn't agree with taking Lukaku off, though Hazard ultimately did an incredible job keeping the ball and moving the team up field those final minutes. I'm curious how he's going to line up against France though, now that Meunier is suspended. According to the Belgian press, the most likely option is that Chadli moves to right back and that either Carrasco re-enters the starting line-up at left wing back or that Vermaelen will play next to Kompany and Alderweireld and that Vertonghen plays left wing back. A less likely option would be that Chadli stays at that hybrid left wing back in attack / central midfield in defense role he played versus Brazil, that Vertonghen, Vermaelen and Kompany play at the back and Alderweireld plays right back. I don't trust Carrasco defending on the same side Mbappé plays so out of those options I'd favor Vertonghen playing the left wing back position with Vermaelen backing him up. I don't know whether I trust that swapping between 4-3-3 and 3-4-3 either, that might work against the less brilliant Willian, but I think that's going to leave a lot of space for Mbappé in transition. I'm hoping for a fixed 4-3-3 with Vertonghen, Vermaelen, Kompany, Alderweireld in defense and Dembélé, Fellaini and Tielemans in midfield (of course Witsel is going to play though) behind Hazard, Lukaku and De Bruyne.

I've booked an early flight and will be watching Belgium - Brazil in Brussels Hope Martinez has learned from the Japan game and will finally stop playing three at the back. He should play Vertonghen, Kompany, Alderweireld, Meunier in defense, De Bruyne hasn't performed offensively or defensively in his current role, so I would either play Fellaini and Dembele (Witsel once again at fault for Japan's second goal) with De Bruyne ahead of them or I would drop Mertens and play De Bruyne on the right. If he insists on playing three at the back, he has to leave out Carrasco, move Vertonghen into left wing back and play Vermaelen next to Kompany and Alderweireld.

Why did Belgium have to beat England?!

Hopefully Cavani's injury won't keep him out of the France game.

He's incredible.

It had been a while since I'd seen Tielemans play, and he didn't even have a particularly good game as he was often sloppy with his passing, but still I couldn't help but notice what a clever player he is: incredible positional sense offensively, always knows where he's going to pass before he receives the ball, wlways turning forwards when he gets the ball from the defenders… He has a bit of a Hazard like body as well, low centre of gravity, thick thighs. and he didn't have a great start to life at Monaco, so maybe he could be had.

I'm leaving for Sevilla for five days on Monday and apparently the winner of Group G plays the quarter finals (if they make it that far) on 6 July 8pm CET. As I'll be on the plane back home then, I might actually be actively rooting for England to win tonight…

Low did the same with Podolski, Schweinsteiger, Mertesacker… Not sure whether Germany actually have that much world class talent coming through though. Obviously they needed to take Sané, but apart from him?

Shame Argentina managed to scrape by, though they still seem shit.

Finishing second probably isn'tt advantageous in the round of 16 as you'll likely meet Colombia, however it's about the quarter finals where whoever finishes second likely meets Serbia or Switzerland whereas who wins will likely meet Brazil or Germany.

Martinez will likely rest the Belgian players that have already been booked (De Bruyne, Vertonghen, Meunier) and those dealing with niggles (Hazard, Lukaku, Mertens) in the England game. Given the fact that you might be better off finishing second in the group, I'm pleased with that.

Not a fan. Lumbering presence.

I didn't think we looked good going forward either. Lots of bad passes and I thought our setup was way too conservative with three centre backs and Witsel. I'm still hoping Martinez will realise we need to just play four at the back.

Not impressed with Belgium's performance. Carrasco at left back is gonna cost us goals.

He looks good on YouTube...

Andy Hunter @AHunterGuardian Marcel Brands to replace Steve Walsh as director of football at Everton. Club to confirm soon. 16:13 - 16 mei 2018

He prefers Witsel not just over Nainggolan, but over Dembélé as well. don't like his infatuation with five at the back (and making Carrasco into a left wing back) either. Mainly because it means that he's never going to play what (to me at least) is so obviously the best midfield we can field: Dembélé, Nainggolan, De Bruyne. Don't think Martinez nor Moyes is a good idea for Everton.

It made me think of the report that Walsh might stay on as well, doesn't sound like an ideal situation to come into.

I think the latest news from Holland is from April 17, when a local Eindhoven newspaper (Eindhovens Dagblad) quoted Brands as saying that he "won't take much longer and will be making a decision soon". He said that "He hasn't made a decision yet", "that it is difficult to leave all this behind", "that at PSV he works with people he can trust and that he has relationships with them that he has cherished for years". PSV's CEO said in a TV show a couple of days earlier that Everton had come in for him, but that "if you know Brands, you know the race isn't over yet'. 'He has to be 100% sure, he implements a clear structure, he did at AZ and he did at PSV. If he moves then he'll need to be 100% sure about the move and if he feels something isn't quite right, then he'll simply say no".

The team badly needs someone with pace to stretch the opposition up front.

If Sandro was injured, he wouldn't have travelled, would he?