Rejuvenated Belgium hopes to banish the memories of a dismal 2022 World Cup campaign fraught with issues on and off the pitch and extend a 15-match unbeaten run in its European Championship Group E opener against Slovakia on Monday.
The country’s golden generation was tarnished by a first-round exit in Qatar but, with several fresh faces in the team and some new energy, Belgium has been unbeaten since coach Domenico Tedesco took over in February last year.
It may be flying a little under the radar in Germany and no longer among the favourites in many people’s eyes but if it keeps cool heads in the changing room and its key players remain injury-free, then anything is possible.
Belgium has kept clean sheets in 10 of its 15 games under German-Italian coach Tedesco and has scored 33 goals themselves, with Romelu Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne and Jan Vertonghen the old heads among exciting young talents Jeremy Doku, Johan Bakayoko and Amadou Onana.
“The experience of Qatar has made us more mature and makes us look at a tournament differently,” winger Yannick Carrasco told reporters.
“As a favourite, there is much more pressure. Being an outsider is beautiful but everyone knows we want to go as far as possible.
READ MORE: Belgium in EURO 2024: Team guide, full squad, match timings, live streaming info, preview
“There is a good atmosphere (in the squad) and a togetherness. We play board games, on the PlayStation. No-one stays in his room. Everyone is hungry and very motivated, young and old.”
Belgium faces a race against time to get key defenders Arthur Theate and Vertonghen fit for their opener, while veteran Axel Witsel, called out of retirement and shifted from the midfield to centre-back, is a doubt after he pulling up in training on Friday.
Fullback Thomas Meunier is definitely out of Monday’s clash, leaving Tedesco potentially thin on defensive options.
STEP UP
Slovakia produced a pair of 4-0 wins over San Marino and Wales in warm-up fixtures but Belgium will be a step up in quality for Italian coach Francesco Calzona.
“Belgium are definitely the strongest team in our group. They are in a moment of change with their players because of their ages, but they have really strong young players. I believe we’ll be seeing them at the top again, like in recent years,” Calzona told UEFA.com.
Experienced midfielder Juraj Kucka has overcome a shoulder problem that had kept him sidelined since April, while centre-back Denis Vavro has put a minor muscle problem behind him and is fit to play.
Belgium and Slovakia have met three times before, the last in 2013 when the former claimed a 2-1 home win. The two games before that both ended 1-1.
Their group also contains Romania and Ukraine, who play earlier on Monday.
Comments
SHARE