Eden Hazard Needs to Find His Chelsea Fire If Belgium Are to Fulfill Potential

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at Internationaled.org

Published: July 5, 2014

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On Saturday, Belgium were knocked out of the World Cup by Argentina, who shoved the Rode Duivels aside by scoring the goal of the match early in the first half, consequently qualifying themselves for the semi-final of the tournament.

In this suspenseful, but for Belgium unfulfilling, quarter-final, Argentina showed they possessed what their opponents have so desperately lacked this World Cup: a star player who could pick his team up from the ground by inspiring them to new heights and scoring goals when it matters most.

Only seven minutes had passed when Gonzalo Higuain, the striker playing in the shadow of captain and national hero Lionel Messi, struck the ball fabulously and thumped it past Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. A stroke of luck was certainly involved before the ball arrived at Higuain’s feet, but there’s no denying it was an excellent finish.

It came at the right time, too. With almost the entire match still ahead of them, the Rode Duivels were immediately forced to battle and push forward, while Argentina sat on roses, relieved of some of the pressure and biding their time.

Eden Hazard tried to change things around, drifting toward the centre from his position out wide, looking increasingly desperate to get ahold of the ball. But for all the talent the Chelsea man possesses, it didn’t come out this World Cup. Like in the group stages, Hazard’s attempts to pierce through the opposition’s defence were smothered time and time again.

Divock Origi, who had replaced Romelu Lukaku after two successful appearances as a substitute, remained largely invisible, and just like Hazard, he was taken off before full-time. So too was Kevin Mirallas, who was replaced by Nacer Chadli near the end of the match, completing manager Marc Wilmots’ trio of attacking substitutions.

The desired effect was not achieved. Despite the involvement of all these players, the...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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