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.

Also, may whatever team wins tonight (hopefully England) beat France badly in the final.

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.

Over £100m for a 33 year old. Absolutely nuts. 

I would feel that way too however you have De Bruyne, Hazard, and Lukaku.  Your team can interact openly on the pitch in a number of languages but the French can realistically only shout in French which you all speak anyway,  how many of them can speak Flemish (or even Walloon if you can understand Dutch)
Besides my ancestry may be Belgian anyway,  which while it won't give you much comfort means I know who I will be cheering on 

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 no longer open anything which is from the Liverpool Echo.  You start to read something and almost immediately you get a screen full of a survey. You get rid of that and you are then inundated with adverts which obscure the article you are trying to read.  Then the screen shifts, so having got rid of the adverts you have to try and find where you were up to.  Talk about 'user unfriendly'.  I think they employ someone just to come up with ideas how to piss people off.

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.

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?!

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. 

Meanwhile, Batshuayi
 
 

Yes I agree 100% that we should be moving on from him, and that it says a lot about our other CB’s that he is still the best one at the club
He has had his wobbles just like the rest of them but he always comes through the other side

DONT MENTION THE VAR!

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… 🤔

what a day!
Now if Neymar and Brazil can fuck off later too it’d be fantastic. 

I’m a big, BIG fan of VAR  

I like the VAR system.  Players know the incident will be reviewed so no point in trying to fool the referee.  System needs some adjustments but definitely a positive evolution.

The team that finishes second has to travel 3000 km less to reach the final.  That is a pretty important factor.

The fact he s better than Williams is no basis to keep him, neither are good enough so we should get shut of both

No loss at all. 

Not a fan. Lumbering presence. 

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

Personally so far I think the best team I've seen is Spain, I know it's early days but they look like the team to beat.