Belgium and USA will cross swords at the Round of 16 of the ongoing FIFA World Cup as the teams meet at the Mangabeira stadium in Salvador De Bahia on Tuesday, July 1.
Belgium have made it to the second round after playing some good football in the Group stage, where they remained unbeaten. Belgium won each of their three matches in Group H where they came up against Algeria, Russia, and the Korea Republic as they showed great determination as a team at the World Cup.
The USA made it into the second round the hard way as German coach Jurgen Klinsmann’s side rode on a 2-1 win over Ghana followed by a 2-2 draw against Portugal to qualify for the Round of 16 ahead of these teams. They were beaten by Germany 1-0 in their final game in Group G.
Belgium have been excellent at defending at the FIFA World Cup in Brazil. The side managed a couple of clean sheets in their games against Russia and South Korea after having conceded a goal against Algeria in the opener. On that occasion, the Red Devils showed great desire as they came from a goal behind to take victory as Marouane Fellaini sparked a comeback from a headed goal after coming on as a substitute.
The likes of Vincent Kompany and Jan Vertonghen have been quite excellent for the Belgians after injury to Thomas Vermaelen affected Marc Wilmots’ plans for the defence. While the Arsenal captain is fighting to be fit for their clash against the Americans, chances of him making it are slim as he trained alone on Sunday.
The Belgians though are not lacking in attack as they have an enviable list of attacking players with the likes of Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne, Kevin Mirallas, Adnan Januzaj, Romelu Lukaku, and Dries Mertens playing for the national team. This team will be looking to score more goals than they have managed in the first round though as Belgium’s golden generation are on course for a ride into the quarterfinals.
The USA have been very reliant on the skills and goal scoring prowess of Jermaine Jones and Clint Dempsey. While the former suffered a broken nose in their last match against Germany, Jones is still expected to turn out for USA on Tuesday. Dempsey, on the other hand, will look to dictate the play for the Americans as much as possible as the Americans look to cause an upset.
Klinsmann has an extremely fit team which defends in compact fashion, as was exhibited against Germany. Had it not been for Thomas Muller’s brilliant goal, the match would have definitely ended in the stalemate. The Americans are great on the counter as well and have some very fit and fast players on their squad. However, for a team which likes to play on the break, the Belgians will represent a tough test as the Europeans play with a deep defensive line.