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Kevin De Bruyne was not about to shout the odds in public with Roberto Martínez – not on the eve of the World Cup semi-final of Belgium against France. But everyone knew what he wanted.
The Manchester City midfielder played different roles in the tournament and it seems that there were no gray areas in the way of judging them. In the first two group matches against Tunisia and Panama, plus most of the last encounter with Japan, Martínez played him as one of his two central midfielders deep in a 3- 4-2-1. De Bruyne looked smooth, but did he take positions to hurt the opposition?
With Belgium leading 0-2 against Japan and elimination, Martínez moved Belgium's hopes. He introduces Marouane Fellaini and pushes De Bruyne further. After Fellaini led the equalizer, it was De Bruyne's 60-yard run that led to the goal of Nacer Chadli, another last minute substitute
Martinez's tactical match in quarter-finals final against Brazil did sink a lot of ink. In what was arguably the biggest game of his career, he moved away from his third try and relied on a 4-3-3, with De Bruyne as a fake 9, giving up a role of 39, central and unchained attacker between Romelu Lukaku and Eden Hazard.
How it worked Belgium was 2-0 before Brazil could stop the haemorrhage and it only took the second semifinal of the World Cup in its history. The first was in 1986 when they were beaten 2-0 by Diego Maradona's Argentina. Maradona scored twice
Martínez said Monday that he had developed the tactical plan for Brazil in one session, which added to the wow factor. But there is little doubt that De Bruyne is the one who conducted the execution. He was electric in the first half, highlighting not only his incisiveness, but his intelligence.
Martínez faces selection dilemmas against France, including how to replace the suspended right-winger, Thomas Meunier. He should call Yannick Carrasco on the left and exchange Chadli on the right. Kylian Mbappé against Carrasco worries the Belgian fans. But the most urgent question certainly concerns where to play De Bruyne; how to build the platform from which it can wreak havoc.
"My role changes all the time," said De Bruyne. "It's creating opportunities and giving passes that my team mates can use to make a difference – like in the last game, when I played a little more forward." I thought the fact that I could playing vertically and having a direct style could help.For the semifinal, it may change, I do not know yet.But I think it's going to be. "
Not surprisingly, Martínez has argues that the judgment of De Bruyne's performance in the deeper role was unfair. He suggested that the midfielder's game work may not have been as striking but it remained important. However, Martínez seemed to concede the point when he considered why De Bruyne was so catchy.
"He is a modern playmaker," said Martínez. "Some playmakers stop the tempo but Kevin goes even faster, his execution is exceptional and if in the last third his performance is very attractive, then he gets greater recognition."
Martínez should return to 3-4 -2-1 but with De Bruyne in an attacking role and keep Fellaini his place in the central midfield. The battle of Fellaini with his Manchester United teammate Paul Pogba is among the secondary intrigues and a flavor of Premier League will support the familiarity between these European neighbors. Belgium has 12 players in the English Premier League ahead of the French five
Didier Deschamps knows that his midfielder, N Golo Kanté, has a vital role to play against his teammate Chelsea, Eden Hazard, but with De Bruyne. "We did not see a lot of Messi when he played us," said the manager.
Deschamps will surely suspect that Belgium could be vulnerable on the flanks. and he is under pressure to target the one who plays on the right – probably Chadli – with an attacker such as Thomas Lemar rather than Blaise Matuidi, who is more of a midfielder. But Matuidi brings balance to training and the sentiment, in general, is that France seemed settled and disciplined, and retains the ability to take on Mbappé.
Deschamps did not exactly do that to Martinez but it was possible to detect an underlying current at one of his comments about his counterpart, who currently enjoys a status tactical engineering. "I do not want to offend Roberto Martínez, but, of course, he has benefited from the work of [his predecessor] Marc Wilmots," said Deschamps. "He put his mark on this team, but he had great potential with this group." It's a tie that could be explosive.
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