The Red Devils Dream

Article by Paul Glanfield

With a certain tournament now looming large on the horizon, Belgium have amassed an array of talent strong enough to quite easily take them all the way to next summer’s World Cup Final in Rio. The Red Devils are currently edging the lead at the top of their qualification group with only 2 points dropped from a possible 21, and look every bit capable of not only finishing the job of qualifying, but taking the world by storm in Brazil next year.

Having enjoyed somewhat of a golden era through the 80s infused by talents such as the mercurial Enzo Scifo, Belgium have recently gone through a time of struggle having not qualified for a major tournament since 2002. Their best World Cup finish was 4th place in 1986, but upon examination of their current assets there is every chance they could go one better next summer.

The comparative strength of their squad to other European power houses such as England and France is remarkable given the size of the country. Whilst England’s football media and fans alike continue to debate how they can possibly return to the top table of international football and have little expectation of any kind of serious assault on the trophy next summer, they must cast their eyes enviously over the English Channel at a Belgium side full of top talent, many of them earning their crust in the Premier League as their sides top performers.

The attacking options available to Belgium are phenomenal. Christian Benteke and Romelu Lukaku harassed and bullied Premier League defenders into meek submission last season and provide options for powerful focal points to the Belgium attack. Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne have already impressed this season for Chelsea with their guile whilst Kevin Mirallas in flashes at least has showcased his talent with Everton over the past 12 months.

The goalscoring talent of Dries Mertens whom scored 37 goals in 62 league appearances last season offers another attacking threat, whilst Nacer Chadli will be hoping to improve upon his impressive displays for FC Twente by furthering his career at Tottenham Hotspur and offers competition as a winger with good aerial ability and a creative touch. Throw the exciting Axel Witsel into the equation and it is plain to see this is an attacking set up with a plethora of options.

In Steven Defour, Moussa Dembele and Marouane Fellaini there are good options for a deeper lying midfield role, although even Dembele and Fellaini offer an attacking angle and the ability to play far higher up the park. There is a real fluidity about the attacking options with a rounded selection of footballers offering the ability to cover various positions across the midfield and forward line.

Defensively the options are no less impressive. A battle between Thibaut Courtois on loan at Athletico Madrid from Chelsea and Simon Mignolet of Liverpool for the goalkeeping position may well take place in the run up to tournament, with both up and coming keepers building on their individual successes of recent seasons.

In defence the Red Devils again have options. Captain Vincent Kompany has enhanced his reputation as not only a great defender but a magnificent leader over the last few seasons following his incredible displays at Manchester City. The experienced Daniel Van Buyten of Bayern Munich provides yet more steel and solidarity on both a footballing and psychological level to the squad, whilst Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld have both gone from being the central pillar at Ajax to Europes top leagues with Tottenham in England and Athletico Madrid in Spain respectively. There’s also Thomas Vermaelen to consider. Although falling out of

favour with the North London side last season, it is important to remember that until then Vermaelen was being hailed as the saviour of the Arsenal backline and he provides yet another option at the back.

As with the attack, many of the defensive players offer the ability to play in various roles across the back line and this could be a hugely decisive element which enables this side to progress to the latter stages of next summer’s tournament. In tournament football the possibility to have a squad of players with such a degree of flexibility enables the coach to plan for all eventual outcomes and means this side should adapt well to changing opponents and even changing situations throughout the course of one match.

Manager Marc Wilmots, whilst relatively inexperienced as a number one, has thus far delivered the required results in qualifying and with 70 international appearances including caps at 4 world cups he has sufficient experience to guide this team into a major international tournament for the first time in over a decade.

Unbeaten in 2013 and on course for next summer’s tournament providing they can overcome the one final tricky hurdle of Croatia in Zagreb at the start of October, this is a Belgium side that should be a joy to watch at next year’s tournament, even if it does eventually take them a play off to get there.

The Red Devils showcase the kind of silky yet resilient footballing style that makes them the perfect fit for the land of footballing finesse next summer, and given the array of talent available to them there can be little doubt that this is a dark horse whom may well go a long way. One thing is for certain, given they are very unlikely to be a seeded nation should they qualify for next year’s tournament, it may be safe to say that the group which Belgium are drawn into will more than likely be the one labelled the ‘Group of Death’. Surely there can be no more appropriate place for the Red Devils to start their assault on the world.