EURO 2021 analysis: the Belgian generation may have one last chance to succeed

The strong Belgian generation has one of the last opportunities to win a major trophy. At the Euros, they will once again be one of the favourites. After the bronze at the World Championships, can they finally win gold?

Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid), Simon Mignolet (Club Brugge), Mats Selz (RC Strasbourg)

There’s nothing to worry about at goalkeeper. Thibaut Courtois has picked himself up after a poor season last year and has been one of Real Madrid’s mainstays this year. Logically, he also has a solid place in the national team. He will be backed up by Simon Mignolet and Mats Selz.

Defenders: Toby Alderweireld (Tottenham), Dedryck Boyata (Hertha Berlin), Jason Denayer (Lyon), Thomas Vermaelen (Vissel Kobe), Jan Vertonghen (Benfica)

Belgium have been displaying very attacking football in recent years, as a result of the 3-4-3 formation. There are some reliable, but a bit too old, players at the stopper position. The new generation is not nearly as strong.

The Belgians will go into the tournament with a trio of defenders in Jan Vertonghen, Toby Alderweireld and Jason Denayer. The first two are over 32 years old, but on the other hand they are still at a high level.

There will be no youngsters on the bench either, Dedryck Boyat is thirty, Thomas Vermalen is even thirty-five, and that could be Belgium’s stumbling block. The quick feet may give such an old defence a problem in the last 20 minutes.

Midfielders: Timothy Castagne (Leicester), Nacer Chadli (Istanbul Başakşehir), Yannick Carrasco (Atlético Madrid), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Leander Dendoncker (Wolves), Thorgan Hazard (Dortmund), Thomas Meunier (Borussia Dortmund), Dennis Praet (Leicester), Youri Tielemans (Leicester), Hans Vanaken (Club Brugge), Axel Witsel (Borussia Dortmund)

Belgium’s back line is extremely good. It often switches from a 3-4-3 system to a 3-5-2, which gives opponents a problem. The pair of classic central midfielders should be Youri Tielemans, Leandro Dendoncker, and there is also talk of Axel Witsel, but he played his last Bundesliga game in early January due to injury.

The wing-back positions are quite unpredictable. On the right Timothy Castagne has a big chance after a good season, on the left Yannick Carrasco, Nacer Chadli and Thorgan Hazard (who also comes up a tier) are aspirants.

Forwards: Michy Batshuayi (Crystal Palace), Christian Benteke (Crystal Palace), Jérémy Doku (Rennes), Eden Hazard (Real Madrid), Romelu Lukaku (Inter Milan), Dries Mertens (Napoli), Leandro Trossard (Brighton)

The list of strikers is also awe-inspiring. The right wing belongs to Kevin de Bruyne, who logically moves to the offensive midfielder position when switching to a 3-5-2 system. The question is how quickly he will heal his injury. Head coach Roberto Martínez revealed that he will miss the first game.

Romelu Lukaku will undoubtedly play on the spearhead. He couldn’t have had a better season, scoring goal after goal and breaking Juventus’ nine-year domination of Serie A with Inter.

The left wing will be shared by the trio of Dries Mertens, Eden Hazard, Leandro Trossard, and theoretically Thorgan Hazard could also start here. If De Bruyne doesn’t manage to recover at all, Hazard from Dortmund, mentioned several times, will play well on the right.

Key success factors: A healthy De Bruyne and defensive support

Kevin de Bruyne is the best offensive midfielder of recent years, so there is no need to explain how important he is for his country. He won’t make the first game against Russia, what about Denmark and Finland?

Axel Witsel’s recovery could play a key role at least in the latter stages of the game. The hirsute fellow can play at both stopper and central midfielder and can take the thorn out of Martinez’s side.

As I reported, the defense is pretty old and Witsel can be very useful in the last 20 minutes. A Vertonghen like Vertonghen can hardly handle three 90 minute games.

Source: Transfermarkt