Belgium’s ‘special group’ ready to
De Bruyne is happy to beat Brazil by any means Formation may change to counter Neymar
It was after midnight in the bowels of the Rostov Arena and Kevin De Bruyne had been asked if Belgium’s quarter-final with Brazil in Kazan on Friday might be a classic. “I don’t
The big question for Uruguay is whether they can prevent defence and midfield being isolated against Kylian Mbappe – when his pace really care. If we get a scrappy 1-0 win in the last minute, I’ll be happy,” he said.
As De Bruyne and his teammates, euphoric but exhausted, filed through the mixed zone, the same question was asked by waiting reporters of all nationalities.
Was their extraordinary comeback from two goals down against Japan to win 3-2 on Monday a coming-of-age moment, a turning point for a team who have routinely come up short in tournaments?
Will Brazil encounter a side who finally have the belief and wherewithal becomes decisive. They will believe they can score, but can they stop France as effectively as they have others?
Key man Mbappe. Who picks him up? Dangerous in the box and also running from deep, when responsibility will fall to defensive midfielder Lucas Torreira.
Prediction: 3-1 France their parts. Belgium should be much harder for Brazil to break down and they should also test them at the back much more than they have been so far.
Key man Kevin De Bruyne. Has not hit top form but never stops trying. Also made for Marouane Fellaini to come on and score again.
Prediction: Belgium 3-1 aet to match their considerable talent?
Nacer Chadli, scorer of the stoppage-time winner that has already joined the annals of great World Cup goals, a 93-yard counter-attack of blistering pace and precision, certainly felt so.
“Yeah, it’s a big moment for us,” the West Bromwich Albion forward said. “To come back like that in a very tough game said a lot. It takes a special group to do that and I think we have a special group.”
Eden Hazard had talked before the game about this being Belgium’s moment to shine and, bearing in mind that Romelu Lukaku and Yannick Carrasco were the only members of the team that started against Japan who will not be in their 30s by the next World Cup in Qatar in 2022, it is hard to disagree.
Their previous two quarter-final appearances ended with a whimper, a dismal 3-1 thumping by Wales at Euro 2016 that cost manager Marc Wilmots his job following a tepid 1-0 loss to Argentina at the World Cup in Brazil two years earlier, but Marouane Fellaini is convinced that they are a different beast now.
“We’re more mature than before,” the Manchester United midfielder said. “We’ve been working together for a long time now, you can’t forget that, and want to show everyone what we can do against Brazil.”
It was Fellaini’s introduction alongside Chadli in the 65th minute that turned the game against Japan on its head. Belgium were trailing 2-0 at that point but, within four minutes of the pair coming on, Jan Vertonghen had pulled a goal back before Fellaini equalised with a header of brilliant brute force.
Chadli’s dramatic winner came