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A talented Belgian generation and a reformed Brazilian team face the best attack against the best defense. The tactical projects launched almost simultaneously by Tite and Roberto Martínez are at stake. The match between Brazil and Belgium, valid for the quarter-finals of the 2018 World Cup, will be the first real fire of the tournament for two teams full of talent but who have been distinguished by very different qualities. The match against the best defense of Russia against the best defense of the World Cup in Kazan Friday (06/07)
The Brazilian defense achieves an impeccable Cup and owns Thiago Silva, scorer of a goal against Serbia, his greatest redemption
Photo: DW / Deutsche Welle
The meeting of the talented Belgian generation and the reformed Brazilian team places players who know each other very well, protagonists of the main clubs of Europe and, in good cases, teammates or opponents in the national leagues. Both parties have information about qualities and weaknesses – there are no secrets or surprises.
The Brazilian team has the return of Marcelo to the left back. The suspended Casemiro will be replaced by Fernandinho. The absence of Casemiro is important, as the Real Madrid midfielder is a key player in the defensive system – his positioning ahead of Thiago Silva and Miranda allows for consistent numerical superiority in the sector. With the entry of Fernandinho, Brazil loses in scoring power, but gains in quality in the exit of the game. Belgium has no embezzlement.
The Red Devils' base consists of athletes who play in the English league, where they also play Willian, Gabriel Jesus, Roberto Firmino, Danilo and Ederson. The socks Philippe Coutinho, who until yesterday defended Liverpool, and Paulinho are the companions of defender Thomas Vermaelen in Barcelona. Miranda, Douglas Costa and Alisson face Dries Mertens at the Italian Championship. In addition, Neymar, Thiago Silva and Marquinhos are his teammates Thomas Meunier.
The successes of Tite and Martínez
The talent duel is also the striptease of two projects that started almost simultaneously: Renato Augusto faces Axel Witsel and Yannick Ferreira Carrasco in the Chinese league. Coaches Tite and Roberto Martínez took over Brazil and Belgium in mid-2016 and, oddly enough, made their debut on September 1 – Tite beat Ecuador while Martinez lost to Spain, the only defeat of the Spanish coach in charge of the Devils Reds.
Both were aimed at recovering the credibility of their selections. While Tite faced a disreputable Brazilian team following a stinging 7-1 defeat at the 2014 World Cup, Martinez sought to regain the trust of the beloved Belgian generation after the frustrating Euro 2016 campaign. during its elimination by Wales. 19659006] The works of Tite and Martínez showed results, although different. The Seleção has the reputation of having the best defensive system in the world: in 25 matches under Titus, Brazil has only suffered six goals – in Cup, only one. Tite gave the Brazilian team a tactical structure that allowed for strategic variations during a match and managed to recover athletes such as Thiago Silva, Fernandinho, Paulinho, Renato Augusto and, collectively, Neymar.
Thierry Henry as a mentor
With 54 goals in 25 games, the Brazilian attack has a respectable statistic, but significantly lower than the 76 goals scored in 24 games by Belgium – an average of 3.1 per match . The offensive power of the Belgians is certainly due to the presence of Frenchman Thierry Henry in the team of coaches. The Brazilian executioner in 2006 and main player of the crushing undefeated English Arsenal champion in 2004 has the function of helping the team's mental and technical evolution.
Coincidence or not, the numbers show that the Belgian team has learned to win and score goals. Since the Martinez-Henry team has taken control of the Red Devils, forward Romelu Lukaku has scored 24 of his 40 goals for the national team.
"When we were kids, we could not see Henry on match days … Every day in the national team, I stand next to a legend that tells me how to run in the fields like he did it before, "Lukaku said in a letter published by The Players Tribune. Eden Hazard, for example, scored 10 of her 24 goals for Belgium in ten years. With 12 goals, the Belgians have the best attack of the World Cup – five more than Brazil.
On the other hand, the Belgian defense is not the safest. In those same 24 matches, Belgium conceded 21 goals – in the Cup there are four. Belgium usually has a line of three defenders and only one midfielder: Axel Witsel. The wings Carrasco and Meunier advance a lot. But Martinez should certainly make changes to better protect the defense – Marouane Fellaini should take the place of Mertens, which, in turn, should give Kevin De Bruyne a more offensive freedom.
In a nutshell, Brazil and Belgium represent the duel of talent with a more solid and organized structuring against the deadly and more versatile talent. Kazan's game is the best counterattack in the world and the most insurmountable defense of the World Cup face to face. The Seleção has only suffered four Copa Cup finals, averaging a kick at the goal defended by Alisson.
Wilmots has not been forgotten
Brazil and Belgium have a short history – this is only four matches. In three friendly matches, Belgium won first (5-1 in 1963), while Seleção won the other two (5-0 in 1965 and 2-1 in 1988).
The only match in the Cup The match, considered by many, including the coach of the time, Luiz Felipe Scolari, as the most complicated of the five-year World Cup campaign, could have have a different result. When the match was 0-0, Marc Wilmots came in, but the referee saw a foul of the Belgian striker in Roque Júnior – an error that would have been corrected if there were already there. 39, video badistance of the referee (VAR).
The first reminder is the name of the referee: Peter Prendergast, so that I can remember the name of an umpire, can only be a memorable moment, "said the defender Vincent Kompany "The only thing that all Belgians remember is Wilmots' head and what would happen if the goal was not reversed." "[29] [29] [29] [29] [29] [29] [29] [29] [30]" The generation game is something for which the players do not attach much importance Brazil will define our generation, it is certain, "he said. "In an ideal world, we would certainly like to be able to impose our game, but Brazil is not a team that attacks all the time in this tournament, it's a strong and well-organized team, we must also be pragmatic. "
still) true generation of gold
If you eliminate Brazil, Belgium will match its best campaign in World Cup. In 1986, the Red Devils reached the semi-finals – by the time they lost to the future world champion, Argentina 2 to 0. To this day, this generation is considered the true golden generation of football Belgian.
With renowned players such as goalkeeper Jean Marie Pfaff, defenders Eric Gerets, Michel Renquin and Franky van der Elst, socks Frank Vercauteren, Jan Ceulemans, Enzo Scifo and René Vandereycken, Belgium has had impressive results in 1980s. The Red Devils were finalists at the 1980 European Championships, won the current world champion in Argentina at the World Cup debut in 1982 and finished fourth at the World Cup in the 1980s. 1986.
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