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Belgium has landed on the most delicate side of the World Cup draw and will have to beat the five-time champions to qualify for the semi-finals
The obsession of Roberto Martinez since qu & # 39; He took the job in Belgium They become a team. It's one thing to have world class players in the team, it's another thing to make them play – collectively – to their potential.
Club director in Britain since February 2007 until his Everton outing nine years later, Martinez had become accustomed to club football rhythms; contact with the players every day, two matches a week and be able to quickly pass of any result.
Having taken the Belgian work in August 2016, he knew that these same rhythms would be disturbed. It was the most difficult adjustment to make for life in international management.
"It's the big price to pay in international football," he says Purpose . "For two years we are preparing for the World Cup and it is very, very difficult to get used to the lack of contact with the players."
In the last six or seven weeks, Martinez has found a new depth at work. He had his World Cup team – more substitutes on the reserve list at the beginning of the camp – since May and it is clear that he has enjoyed constant contact with his team. everyday.
It's a pleasure to bring club methods to international football, "he says. "We begin the seventh week together, establish a real foundation, become a team and be able to prepare games with the meaning that they have.
"It has been a real reward – for me and the technical staff: working on a daily basis and sharing emotions with the players."
And it was in this second half against Japan – in one of the world's biggest. The all-time Cup games – which answered Martinez's question: Can we become a team?
"The approach to the World Cup was very clear," he says. "The real strength is that the players have made an incredible sacrifice over the past six weeks to become a team."
"A team on the first foot, who believes in the talent we have and wants to score goals and attack."
Martinez quickly adjusted a system that suited the forces at his disposal: a three-player back row now familiar with two-player midfielder fins including Kevin De Bruyne, and a third ahead of Eden Hazard, Dries Mertens and Romelu Lukaku, Belgium has won nine of his 10 qualifying matches scoring 46 times and conceding six.
De Bruyne is used further by Martinez than by Pep Guardiola in Manchester City. Putting another midfielder behind De Bruyne does not seem like an option. This would require a move to a fourth back and the presence of a left back specialist. Martinez does not have any. In any case, he is delighted with the shape of the city man and the qualities of leadership that he has started bringing to the team.
"Maybe because at the club level, he's always at the end of a goal." Martinez says, "His influence in our team was much deeper, allowing us to" 39; have influence in the last third and be a true playmaker for us. "
" I will always remember that there was a moment to 0-2 against Japan and he is the one who gives a little calm, a little belief and he lets everyone know that we still have time to get back into the game
"It's a role that allows us to be a team. It is essential for us. "
Lukaku, meanwhile, is now one of the most productive strikers in the world at the international level, with four goals in the World Cup. he has scored more for Belgium in the big leagues than any other player.He has 23 points out of 21 in total for Martinez.
"You can see this state of mind of". a winner, "he says of his star ahead." He has an elite brain and wants to become the best in his position. You see an evolution in the footballer.
"His decision to help this ball for someone who was in a better position says a lot about his maturity and his understanding of why we are here – to be a team In an attempt to win matches, Martinez said of his return at the last minute against Japan to allow Nacer Chadli to touch the center of Thomas Meunier.
The Belgian base just at the # Outside of Moscow, the manager was able to give the players time to spend with their families, and after defeating Tunisia in the group stage, there was a barbecue for all the staff, the players and their relatives.
The result was the equalization of Belgium's best performance at a World Cup.And some records were broken along the way for good measure. [19659003] They scored more goals than any other Re team in the group stage with nine. They were one of only three teams to win all their group matches at the same time as Uruguay and Croatia.
Their unbeaten streak is now 23 matches with 18 wins and five draws. Against Tunisia, they scored five times in a World Cup match for the first time in their history.
And in this astonishing defeat of Japan, they became the first team to overturn a 0-2 scoreline at 90 minutes of a World Cup knockout match since Portugal beat North Korea in 1966.
"We have earned the right to be here," says Martinez. "The games we played prepared the group in the best possible way."
"This is the third time we have been playing in the quarterfinals in 1945. So it's quite new to us."
The reward for their performances is a place in front of five-time world champion in Brazil and their superstar before Neymar. Having been channeled to the toughest side of the table despite winning the group, Martinez is aware that this is the first time at the competition that they will play as second favorites.
"I do not think we'll ever be better prepared to face a Brazilian team in the World Cup," he says. "And the reward would be magnificent, to be able to reach the semifinal that only happened once in our history.
" This shows what this generation has already accomplished, so we must take advantage of this brand as outsiders. We have not yet been outsiders throughout the tournament and I think it's important that when you do that, you know exactly how to play. "
It will take a change of mentality on the part of the players and perhaps also the manager of his training.It will not only require specific performances of his players to force the favorites, but also a thought of Martinez in the dugout.
"We must give a lot of respect to this Brazilian team because they are the great team of the team. tournament, "he says. "The individual quality, the way Tite has gathered this group of players." And then, in addition to that, it's this psychological benefit. Just shoot that yellow top in a World Cup – it means something quite different from everything else.
"But what this World Cup has shown is that the information is there for everyone.It's no secrets.It's more who's # 39; adapts to the day and to the occasion and to the game better. And that's what we have to do.
"We must forget to play against these individual players – and this team because & # 39; They have extra meaning – and see just what we need to do in the day. How we can get into the game because each team has weaknesses and each team has its strengths. This is certain. "
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