A Horse Named Stranger Posted July 2, 2018 Share Posted July 2, 2018 7 minutes ago, La Albearceleste said: Roberto Martinez. World Cup winning coach. Get used to the idea. I think you just put a toffee somewhere on suicide watch with that thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daemon the Leaner Posted July 2, 2018 Share Posted July 2, 2018 3 minutes ago, I am Zlatan said: Can’t wait for Martinez to learn, not that De Bruyne should be getting the ball higher up the pitch, but that they need Fellaini in for the Brazil game. Not sure with that point though. Who would you bar from Belgium's current midfield ? With Witsel off, KDB would have even less freedom, considering that Fellaini is no holding midfielder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polishgenius Posted July 2, 2018 Share Posted July 2, 2018 Yeah, Fellaini should be held in reserve as the chaos machine. But from the start, it should really be Dembele and Tielemans I reckon, with KDB ahead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Consigliere Posted July 2, 2018 Share Posted July 2, 2018 Belgium were badly exposed on the flanks. Munier and Carrasco did not provide much defensive cover and this was further compounded by the lack of pace with the back three. Switching to a back four still leaves a lack of pace at the back and will probably have to play Vertonghen at LB. Martinez has committed to this 3-4-3 for some time though so I'm not expecting him to change things at this stage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daemon the Leaner Posted July 2, 2018 Share Posted July 2, 2018 4 minutes ago, Fellaining Da Bruyne said: But from the start, it should really be Dembele and Tielemans I reckon, with KDB ahead. Yup, hard to disagree with that. I assume they aren't lined up for not being defensive enough, while Witsel offer a good cover. Couldn't Belgium actually line-up like this? Meunier - Vertonghen - Alderweireld - Chadli Witsel KDB - Dembele Mertens - Lukaku - Hazard ...with Fellaini and Carrasco being super efficient subs depending on whether you need pace or aerial threat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philokles Posted July 2, 2018 Share Posted July 2, 2018 39 minutes ago, Warm-hands said: Not sure with that point though. Who would you bar from Belgium's current midfield ? With Witsel off, KDB would have even less freedom, considering that Fellaini is no holding midfielder. Sorry that was not very clearly written, I meant the opposite. Fellaini definitely should not be starting, but knowing Martinez he’ll probably be in for Brazil. Finding some room for Dembele to free De Bruyne from having to come so deep without unbalancing the side totally is the issue. I’d consider dropping Mertens, who is not a winger anymore and was not effective tonight, and playing KdB tucked in centrally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polishgenius Posted July 2, 2018 Share Posted July 2, 2018 27 minutes ago, Warm-hands said: I assume they aren't lined up for not being defensive enough, while Witsel offer a good cover. That's probably true, but given that Tielemans has spend much of the season transitioning into a deeper, more defensive role than he played for Anderlecht (I believe that's why he took a while to start getting real chances), I'm not sure Witsel offers that much more defensively than him anymore, and obviously Tielemans offers a different level of creativity. I mean, I'd suggest that Tielemans-Dembele is very likely a more defensively effective partnership than Witsel-KDB. I agree with the formation though. The FBs are going to be a problem (it's why Martinez abandoned the formation in the first place), but... well, clearly they're a problem anyway. And they can't open the game like that against Brazil. eta: at the very very least, though, they have to put one of the two in to cut KDB loose. That shouldn't be in dispute at the moment. But Martinez is disputing it anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davrum Posted July 2, 2018 Share Posted July 2, 2018 Not bummed Belgium won but bummed we didn't get extra time - I could have done with another half hour of those two teams going at each other. What were Japan thinking over-committing to that corner? They're famously well-conditioned so another 30 min wouldn't have hurt them and they were threatening Belgium regularly. So many deadset chances for both sides it should have been 5-5 after 90 minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iskaral Pust Posted July 3, 2018 Share Posted July 3, 2018 A great day of football. We found our way out of the doldrums and back to the trade winds. Mexico started so well but didn’t score to make it tangible. I’ll grant you these Brazilian defenders are less generous than their German counterparts but Mexico seemed to make a lot of bad choices. Neymar took some flak after the group games so his bleached, feathered hair got a quick cut and dye to look like a natural-colored short-back-and-sides in order to convince us all that he’s really not a prima donna and massive arsehole. Chicharito did the reverse. Clearly bleached hair is a jinx. How is Jesus keeping Firmino out of the starting XI? Baffling. The Japanese were much better than I expected, so good on the ball, positive in possession and committed to a really smart strategy. Both goals were really well worked and beautifully taken. Belgium on the other hand seemed to be running in glue at times and had so many sloppy touches that spoiled attacks. Witsel is an absolute imposter; he looks like he won his spot in the team after collecting tokens from cereal boxes. But the real problem here is the formation. As well as Martinez did with his subs, that formation is terrible and was never fixed. Those CBs and WBs are an open invitation to a wide attack, Munier crowds out Mertens (who barely had a touch) while Carrasco crowded out Hazard at times. I think they’d be better in a back four (Munier and Vertonghen/Vermaelen at full back) with KDB at ARMF, Dembele and not-Witsel in CMF, Chadli or Carrasco at ALMF and then Hazard behind Lukaku. Fellaini, elbows flying, is the impact sub when you need to resort to hoofing. Belgium are bloody lucky to be in the quarters. This is setting up to be a stroll for Brazil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denvek Posted July 3, 2018 Share Posted July 3, 2018 10 hours ago, I am Zlatan said: 2-0 down, not 2 goals down. Germany beat France in 1982 in the Schumacher game having been 3-1 down. Can’t wait for Martinez to learn, not that De Bruyne should be getting the ball higher up the pitch, but that they need Fellaini in for the Brazil game. Maybe that doesn't count because the game was a draw and decided on penalties? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baxus Posted July 3, 2018 Share Posted July 3, 2018 11 hours ago, Davrum said: Not bummed Belgium won but bummed we didn't get extra time - I could have done with another half hour of those two teams going at each other. Me too. This is the first time in my life I was hoping for extra time. This was the most fun game to watch in this whole tournament (I haven't seen Spain vs Portugal nor France vs Argentina, though) and I wanted more of it. It looked even better after that slog that was Croatia vs Denmark the day before. Shame to see Japan leave the tournament. World football could use more teams playing like they did in this match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daemon the Leaner Posted July 3, 2018 Share Posted July 3, 2018 Can England make it today ? (absolutely not interested in Switzerland vs Sweden, I have to reckon) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jordan La Cabra Posted July 3, 2018 Share Posted July 3, 2018 6 minutes ago, Warm-hands said: Can England make it today ? (absolutely not interested in Switzerland vs Sweden, I have to reckon) Football's coming home. Haven't you heard? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Consigliere Posted July 3, 2018 Share Posted July 3, 2018 Sweden/Switzerland has actually been a good game. Sweden have squandered some great opportunities which could come back to bite them. ETA. and another big chance goes begging for Sweden. Ekdal is pants in front of goal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mme Erzulie Posted July 3, 2018 Share Posted July 3, 2018 The Swedes really miss someone with some semblance of finishing ability, but I've been pleasantly surprised at how open the game has been. As for Mexico's no. 22 (I think), he had at least three or four chances to put a teammate through on goal, and made the wrong decision every single time. Mexico could easily have won that game. Also, living in England makes it really hard to root for the English football team (whom I quite like). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Horse Named Stranger Posted July 3, 2018 Share Posted July 3, 2018 Somewhat surprising result, I thought Switzerland would advance. Not a major upset, as those are two roughly evenly matched, but I had Switzerland as slight favorites anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Consigliere Posted July 3, 2018 Share Posted July 3, 2018 Poor performance by Switzerland. Sweden thoroughly deserved to win that game. If anything, the 1-0 scoreline is flattering to Switzerland. With a bit more composure in front of goal, it would have been a very comfortable win for Sweden. Sweden have impressed me. They are so well organised but hardly a park-the-bus-team. They get forward with purpose and in numbers and aren't just resorting to lumping the ball forward hoping that something might happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik of Hazelfield Posted July 3, 2018 Share Posted July 3, 2018 And my beloved Sweden is through! The goal was bloody luck, but they created enough chances to earn it. Almost all the Swedish strikers have had a really bleak tournament so far, but the defence has been good enough to make up for it so far. They play with speed, they play with confidence and they play for each other. I don’t think this showing will scare the pants off France or Brazil, but they’re in the quarter finals and my feeling is that no team is really safe against these guys. They will fight, fight and fight until the referee blows the whistle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Consigliere Posted July 3, 2018 Share Posted July 3, 2018 Also think that Behrami was lucky not be sent off just like he was lucky not to be sent off against Brazil. He's fortunate that the referees in this tournament have been so lenient. If those were CL games, he'd have seen red both times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philokles Posted July 3, 2018 Share Posted July 3, 2018 Some odd selections today from the Swiss. Embolo looked bright in his cameo against Serbia and vs Costa Rica yet was dropped for today. Given how poor their conventional strikers are, I'd have considered playing him up front if you wanted Dzemaili in the side. Bringing in Djourou and Lang out of position at right back to replace the suspended Schär and Lichtsteiner when you've got an actual RB in Elvedi on the bench was a poor move. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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