Belgium Appear to Be Picking Up Momentum, but Questions Remain Unanswered

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: June 30, 2016

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After the shock of the opening defeat to Italy, a sense of calm has returned to Belgium. They’ve won their last three games, scoring eight without reply, and the discontent in the squad—the vague threat of mutiny—seems to have receded. There is nothing, after all, quite so good for team spirit as winning.

As they approach Friday’s semi-final against Wales, though, certain doubts remain. 

It can never be a bad thing to be the leading scorers in the tournament, but context is required. 

Three of their eight goals came against a Republic of Ireland side producing its worst performance of the tournament, arguably its worst under Martin O’Neill—scratchy, disengaged and fearful.

A 1-0 win over Sweden is no great success; this was a stubborn side that was so limited going forward it didn’t manage its first shot on target until the fifth minute of the third game.

And while the demolition of Hungary was ostensibly impressive, it was against a team that had lost Laszlo Kleinheisler in the warm-up; this was not only a blow in itself, it disrupted the meticulous planning that had characterised Bernd Storck’s side.

But winning is good. Perhaps Belgium head coach Marc Wilmots has suddenly got the balance right and found a way of fitting his stars together.

While some of the criticism has begun to abate, none of those performances were sufficient in themselves to overturn the suspicion that first emerged at the 2014 World Cup that, under Wilmots, this side is rather less than the sum of its parts.

Eden Hazard, who has so regularly disappointed for Belgium, at least found form against Hungary, scoring a dazzling goal and laying on an assist for Michy Batshuayi. There remain questions though as to whether he and Kevin De Bruyne, who has probably been Belgium’s best creative player in the group stage, can play together.
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Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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