2014 World Cup: Belgium will be the dark horse of Brazil

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: June 11, 2013

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Chocolates. Waffles. European parliament. Fictional detectives.

Belgium is known for a lot of things, but not traditionally a strong national football team.

The Diables Rouges ("Red Devils") have never been a contender among the European nations. They have only qualified for one of the last seven European Championships. They failed to reach the last two World Cup Finals, and have only progressed further than the Round of 16 once.

At next summer's World Cup, however, the Belgians are likely to be an underdog that will surprise and shock with their progress.

In the past few years, the Belgian national team has changed beyond recognition. Between March, 2009 and September, 2010, they lost 11 of their 16 matches. Their only competitive victory was a World Cup qualifier over Turkey, who also failed to reach the tournament in South Africa.

Since the departure of unsuccessful managers Franky Vercauteren and Dick Advocaat,  this Belgium squad has become a prominent force in Europe. They have won all five of their games in 2013, including a hard-fought World Cup qualifier against Serbia last week. The victory leaves them top of UEFA Group A with three games remaining.

Their last competitive loss was back in October 2011, when they were defeated away from home by Germany in a Euro 2012 qualifier.

Belgium are now guaranteed to progress from their World Cup qualifying group, and few would doubt their ability to earn an automatic spot at next summer's tournament.



As any Premier League fan will already know, the secret to Belgium's recent success is an overwhelming array of talent across the pitch.

At the back, they boast the captains of Arsenal and Manchester City, Thomas Vermaelen and Vincent Kompany. Also among the centre-back artillery is Bayern Munich's Daniel Van Buyten, while Jan Vertonghen—easily one of Tottenham's best players last season&mdash...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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