GROUP G
Belgium World Cup profile: Guide to squad list, record, latest odds, path to final, team news and star man
Roberto Martinez is in the hotseat as the Belgians look to shrug off their nearly-men tag and challenge for the World Cup
BELGIUM once again travel to a World Cup looking to deliver on high expectations.
Blessed with a talented group of young players, this may be the year that they finally click and put up a proper challenge for the trophy.
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Romelu Lukaku of Man United will lead the line for Belgium at the World CupHere's all you need to know about England's opponents in Group G.
In a nutshell: Hotly-tipped contenders from the land of thin chips and mayonnaise, top-notch chocolate and Trappist beers.
Flag: Often confused with the German flag, the Belgian flag is a vertical black, yellow and red triband as opposed to a horizontal black, red and yellow triband.
That’s cleared that up then.
Population: 11.35 million
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Nickname: Given that they speak three languages in Belgium (four if you include Walloon), you can call them Rode Duivels, Diables Rouges or Rote Teufel.
They all mean the same thing though – The Red Devils.
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Manager: The Spaniard who guided little Wigan Athletic to a famous FA Cup Final win in 2013… and then got them relegated to the Championship just three days later, Roberto Martinez.
And he is joined by French hero Thierry Henry, the former Arsenal and Barcelona superstar, who works as his right hand man.
Road to Russia
QUALIFYING RESULTS
06/09/16 Cyprus A 3-0
07/10/16 Bosnia and Herzegovina H 4-0
10/10/16 Gibraltar A 6-0
13/11/16 Estonia H 8-1
25/03/17 Greece H 1-1
09/06/17 Estonia A 2-0
31/08/17 Gibraltar H 9-0
03/09/17 Greece A 2-1
07/10/17 Bosnia and Herzegovina A 4-3
10/10/17 Cyprus H 4-0
TOP SCORERS
11 Romelu Lukaku
6 Eden Hazard
5 Thomas Meunier
5 Dries Mertens
MOST APPEARANCES
10 Thibaut Courtois
10 Jan Vertonghen
9 Toby Alderweireld
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Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne form a dream partnership for Belgium
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Captain: Manchester City’s Vincent Kompany (fitness permitting).
Star Man: Fleet of foot and easy on the eye, it’s Chelsea’s Eden Hazard, closely followed by the wonderful workhorse that is Kevin de Bruyne, who, lest we forget, is half-English.
Rising Star: There are a clutch of Premier League clubs chasing Anderlecht’s 22-year- old Leander Dendoncker – and with good reason.
Most caps: Tottenham’s Jan Vertonghen (98).
All-time top scorer: Manchester United’s Romelu Lukaku (31).
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Nice kit? As usual, it’s red but now with added yellow harlequin design across the chest. Not great.
Most offensive haircut? Roberto Martinez obviously demands sensible barnets from his players, as Radja Nainggolan was axed from the final squad meaning his ever-changing Mohawk will not be appearing in Russia.
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Any names we can laugh at like kids? We can’t wait for Clive Tyldesley to shout ‘Foket!’ when the Gent defender, Thomas Foket, lets fly from 30 yards.
Rivals? It’s the Derbies der Lage Landen, or the Derby of the Low Countries, against the Netherlands.
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National anthem: La Brabanconne, which, like most other anthems written in the wake of revolutions, is both vengeful and violent.
Sample lyric:
Oh Belgium - Oh mother dear -
To you we stretch our hearts and arms,
With blood to spill for you, Oh fatherland!
We swear with one cry - You shall live!
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WAG Watch! Yannick Carrasco’s significant other is former Miss Belgium Noemie Happart.
National dish: Moules and frites by the bucketload.
National drink: Jenever has been the national spirit of Belgium for over 500 years.
It’s also the drink form which gin evolved.
World Cup Finals Record: P41 W14 D9 L18 F52 A66
World Cup Win Ratio: 34%
Best World Cup performance: Quarter-finalists in 2014.
FIFA World Ranking: 5
WORLD CUP SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Koen Casteels (Wolfsburg), Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea), Simon Mignolet (Liverpool).
Defenders: Toby Alderweireld (Tottenham Hotspur), Dedryck Boyata (Celtic), Vincent Kompany (Manchester City), Thomas Meunier (Paris St-Germain), Thomas Vermaelen (Barcelona), Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham Hotspur).
Midfielders: Yannick Carrasco (Dalian Yifang), Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City), Mousa Dembele (Tottenham Hotspur), Leander Dendoncker (Anderlecht), Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United), Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Thorgan Hazard (Borussia Monchengladbach), Adnan Januzaj (Real Sociedad), Dries Mertens (Napoli), Youri Tielemans (Monaco), Axel Witsel (Tianjin Quanjian).
Forwards: Michy Batshuayi (Chelsea), Nacer Chadli (West Brom), Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United).
Path to final: It should be a toss-up between Belgium and England for top spot in Group G, but the rewards are very similar.
A second round tie will be against one of Colombia, Poland, Japan and Senegal out of an evenly matched Group H with the Group G winner then likely to face Brazil in the quarters with the runner-up probably taking on Germany.
France, Portugal or Uruguay are potential semi-final opponents for the group winner with Spain or Argentina waiting in the wings for the runner-up.
Who's better: Man City star Kevin De Bruyne or Chelsea ace Eden Hazard?
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