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Having seen the struggles of the other European side tipped as dark horses, Switzerland, in their opening game, Belgium had good reason to be wary, especially when their team hasn’t been as successful as their strong selection of talent suggests it should be. Marc Wilmots sent out his team in a 4-2-3-1 with Moussa Dembele playing slightly ahead of Alex Witsel in the double pivot, while Algeria went out in a 4-3-3 led by Al Arabi Soudani rather than Islam Slimani up front. Primarily defensive, Algeria impressed with their organisation early on, particularly in dealing with Eden Hazard – doubling up and pinning him into a corner whenever he received the ball* – yet their job was made easy by Belgium. For all their talent, they have brought only one natural full-back – Anthony Vanden Borre, who is now back at Anderlecht in his homeland – to the World Cup, instead opting for centre-backs Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld on the left and right respectively. While both are good technically for centre-backs, they lack the attacking thrust needed as full-backs against a defensive team like Algeria. Belgium really needed someone to get forward and stretch the massed ranks of the […]
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