Yea they have some amazing talent (a golden generation if you will) . Belgium and Colombia (pre Falcao injury) were considered two darkhorse teams to make deep runs in this World Cup.
Wrote about them somewhere, can't find it right now. One of the best talent pools and their starting XI should look really good. They are one of those nations that has good players for every position, the mix is definitely promising. They can play refreshing attacking football with their creative midfield and above average strikers. BUT: This is one of the youngest and most inexperienced teams in the Cup, I really think they need more time to become a cohesive unit that understands where everyone is making runs, when to pass at the right time, who falls back and secures in case of an opponent's counterattack etc. These things come with time and playing together for an extended period. I do not expect them to beat any of the powerhouses this summer, but look out for them in the 2016 EC and 2018 WC. As I said, the potential is huge and they have promising players at every position.
Youth can be a great thing in soccer. In soccer more than any other sport, youth is a big advantage. DD
I disagree. This Belgium squad has been playing together for the past four years. They had an undefeated 2013 up until October, beating teams like France, Croatia, Serbia and the U.S. They've been playing for quite a while now, so I'm sure they've built up a cohesiveness. They'll only secure their holes in this next month before the WC. I can definitely see Belgium coming out first in their group, and they can definitely beat whatever 2nd place in G is.
I love the end of this commercial. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Th7nbtKVkLY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> So true...so true.
They should destroy that group. Doing so would have them playing the 2nd place team from Group G...so you'd figure one of USA, Portugal or Ghana (assuming Germany does what they're supposed to)...then a likely QF match up against Argentina. They've been playing together but it's still a very young (but insanely talented) team. I'd make them one of the favorites for Euro 2016 and for Russia 2018 right now.
I am rooting for Belgium personally. I would love to see Kompany hoist the WC trophy. Lukaku and Hazard up front will be deadly.
anybody catch the 30 for 30 last night on the USMNT? I only saw the end so i was hoping someone might know where i could watch the full thing.
Dang, I didn't know they were doing one on the USMNT. Hopefully someone has a link, I would love to watch it too.
I love the Belgian team and agree they have quality all around. I can't wait to see how/if they put it all together. This is definitely the early part of their golden age.
It really is a pity they don't have Benteke available up front. Mirallas has experience but not near the quality. With Benteke and Lukaku I would have had them pegged as a favorite to win it all.
Here's the schedule for the documentaries (first runs only) - courtesy of Ussoccer.com Initial episodes of the six-part documentary from ESPN Films, the production group behind the award winning 30 for 30 series, will air as follows (all times ET): May 13, Tuesday, 7-8 p.m.: Series premiere May 21, Wednesday, 7-7:30 p.m.: Episode 2 May 29, Thursday, 7:30-8 p.m.: Episode 3 June 3, Tuesday, 7:30-8 p.m.: Episode 4 June 10, Tuesday, 8:30-9:30 p.m.: Episode 5 June 11, Wednesday, 9:30-10 p.m.: LIVE series finale – Epilogue In the premiere episode, viewers will get to know various players from the team, as well as head coach Jurgen Klinsmann, a World Cup champion as a player and former coach of Germany’s national team. Subsequent episodes will shadow coaches and players as they undergo a demanding preparation camp at Stanford University and follow the team as it plays three Send-Off Series matches beginning with the U.S. vs. Azerbaijan, Powered by Yingli Solar on May 27 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Additionally, the series will spotlight the announcement of the final 23-man roster and behind-the-scenes footage of the USA’s final two Send-Off Series matches against Turkey at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey on June 1 and Nigeria at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida, on June 7. The series culminates in a live finale, featuring analysis and discussion of the 2014 U.S. Men’s National Team World Cup squad. Not sure where a link can be found but ABC will be showing the first episode again tomorrow at 2pm for those interested in watching/DVRing it.
Looks like FIFA is wishing they didn't take those bribes now... http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/may/16/sepp-blatter-qatar-2022-world-cup-mistake
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>if you missed Inside: U.S. Soccer's March to Brazil Episode 1 repeats: Thurs at 9pm ET on ESPN2, Sat afternoon at 2pmET /11 am PT on ABC</p>— roger bennett (@rogbennett) <a href="https://twitter.com/rogbennett/statuses/466689369156624385">May 14, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> FYI, Roger Bennett (ESPN) is the co-producer of the series along with Jonathan Hock.
What a joke. Political considerations? He's clearly a man who knows he's completely untouchable, and therefore holds no accountability.
UNIVISION DEPORTES NETWORK is showing "Historia de los Mundiales" almost every weekend. This is an NFL-FILMs-like documentary of every World Cup since they could record it. I think it started with England's Cup in the 60s. It's in ENGLISH, but they have it dubbed in Spanish. Last weekend was *gulp* Japan/Korea 2002, and it required to parts. Don't know when they will show the next one. HERE IS GERMANY 2006: http://www.locatetv.com/tv/historias-de-la-copa-mundial-de-la-fifa/8531145 Check this out: http://www.elpais.com/deportes/futbol/mundial/historia/uruguay-1930/
Belgium played underwhelming in their WC qualifying group. Yes, they have the results, but their play has been average.
Well, our biggest problem up until recently had been our terrible head coach who has set us back far. But then he was replaced with Niko Kovač, our former captain and a true leader. I like the improvements I've seen from the team in the three games he's been the coach, but I still have to watch the pre-WC friendlies to get a clearer view. If Kovač manages to motivate the players and we play at our best, wins against Mexico and Cameroon are certain and we can maybe get a draw vs Brazil. That's the ideal scenario, but Mexico is still the worst team in the group and we should beat them anyway.
