WC-MOTD19-P2
Day 19 (part 2!):-
Belgium vs. USA:-
The culmination of a rather tense and extremely tight set of matches in the round of 16 was more one-sided than any of the previous games as Belgium supremacy overran US spirit!
Both teams did not report any noticeable tactical changes, with Coach Marc Wilmots opting for speed over physicality at the spearhead of attack; Origi starting as Belgium’s main striker in place of Lukaku.
Coach Jürgen Klinsmann went with a more-balanced approach; as he deployed natural-CB Geoff Cameron in the only holding DM role, since Kyle Beckerman was suspended for this game.
The game took shape quite quickly as Belgium began pressing way-high up the pitch from early-on; looking to force their way through the US’ box as they searched for an early lead.
Team USA were trying to settle-down the game’s tempo every time they got hold off the ball in an attempt to subdue the Belgians’ attacking ferocity. Belgium, meanwhile, were unable to hold onto possession for a sufficient amount of time.
The game was being, more or less, fully controlled by the Belgians as time passed by. They were upping the tempo with their fast offensive movement at will; however, they were unable to convert numerous chances in front of goal.
The US were obviously depending on launching a counter-attack every now and then; but were looking increasingly vulnerable at the back!
They attempted to press Belgium higher up the pitch as the half faded-out, with a view to attack more as the Bradley-Dempsey fulcrum dictated play down the middle; but, ultimately, the lack of physical presence in Belgium’s box (a consequence of Dempsey dropping deep to initiate play) made it difficult for them to score a goal.
Belgium started the first half with ferocious pace; barely allowing the US any time to properly adapt to the game. However, they lost possession in key areas sometimes and were too wasteful with the scoring opportunities they had!
Team USA slowly grew into the game; successfully slowing Belgium’s tempo at times while playing on the break for the most part. They, too, were unable to make the most of one or two really good chances in front of goal.
The second half began in a very similar fashion to the first; the Belgians pressing high from the off, but, again, unable to find the right pass into the box as the lack of a proper physical striker was beginning to hinder their offensive approach (think Lukaku!).
The match turned into a completely one-sided affair from that point, with Belgium coming closer and closer to scoring a goal with incredible misses and even more incredible saves from Tim Howard.
The US were nowhere close to being lethal enough up front; as Dempsey continuously dropped deep and left spaces in the box, which were then not occupied by anyone capable of finishing-off their attacks!
Belgium continued to attack in waves as Team USA defended deep; but the Belgians were lacking a real “cutting edge” to their forward momentum as they seemed unable to break through the US’ defense, while they were also in dire need of more precision in front of goal.
The shortage of urgency in Belgium’s build-up play, coupled with the missing physical presence in the final third (again, think Lukaku!) and the fact that they were too wasteful with chance after chance on goal, all hampered their chances of ever scoring a goal as Tim Howard was the only man performing on the US team.
It was an utterly one-sided story in the second half as Belgium tore the US apart in terms of chances created; but it was all pointless as they wasted most of them and were denied others by some great heroic saves from Tim Howard.
Team USA defended well at times but barely offered anything of notice in attack; being too passive in their approach and they only have their GK to thank for keeping the score at 0-0 after 90 minutes.
Lukaku, FINALLY, came on at the start of the first half of extra-time to inject that much needed physical presence in Belgium’s attacks.
It did not take that long though for the substitution to pay off, as Lukaku used his physique (surprise surprise :P) to force his way through the US’ box, after a quick counter-attack, and passed the ball to De Bruyne; who then pulled-back almost 3 US defenders, before turning and shooting for a 1-0 lead.
The US responded by trying to quickly press Belgium into their own half, but it was not working very well; for they were unable to create anything of notice from open play and were losing possession of the ball way too easily, amidst some very compact and sturdy Belgian defense.
Another quick counter-attack saw De Bruyne assisting Lukaku this time! The Belgium striker then blasting the ball past a distraught Howard for an unassailable (or so the Belgians thought!) 2-0 lead.
Lukaku was the obvious game-changer in that first half of extra-time; offering Belgium the missing element of physicality their play has been craving for so long prior to the substitution.
Meanwhile, the US were just too flat at the back and, fatigue or no fatigue, they were not able to do much with the ball as they lacked true creativity from midfield.
Just after the second half of extra-time began, the US brought the game back to life with a long ball from Bradley over and above Belgium’s backline, with youngster Green timidly volleying it into the back of the net to ensure a nail-biting end to this game (Alderweireld being at fault for that goal as he was too static in his reaction)!
Team USA threw bodies forward and were not holding anything back, while the Belgians suddenly began to look extremely flakey and nervous in defense, even though that they were still very dangerous on the break.
The US gave it their all in attack as they pumped urgency and flair into their offensive approach; but, sadly for them, it was not meant to be as the game came to an end.
Belgium were clearly the better side for well over 105 minutes of the game and should have concluded the game way earlier, had they not missed so many chances in front of goal.
The US, as always, showed real spirit in fighting back and did fairly okay in defense for most parts of the game (Tim Howard being especially brilliant).
Man of the match (the obvious choice would have been the aforementioned US GK, had Team USA won or even tied!):-
Kevin De Bruyne: He was directly involved in both of Belgium’s goals and was at the center-stage of almost every Belgian attack!
Belgium vs. USA:-
The culmination of a rather tense and extremely tight set of matches in the round of 16 was more one-sided than any of the previous games as Belgium supremacy overran US spirit!
Both teams did not report any noticeable tactical changes, with Coach Marc Wilmots opting for speed over physicality at the spearhead of attack; Origi starting as Belgium’s main striker in place of Lukaku.
Coach Jürgen Klinsmann went with a more-balanced approach; as he deployed natural-CB Geoff Cameron in the only holding DM role, since Kyle Beckerman was suspended for this game.
The game took shape quite quickly as Belgium began pressing way-high up the pitch from early-on; looking to force their way through the US’ box as they searched for an early lead.
Team USA were trying to settle-down the game’s tempo every time they got hold off the ball in an attempt to subdue the Belgians’ attacking ferocity. Belgium, meanwhile, were unable to hold onto possession for a sufficient amount of time.
The game was being, more or less, fully controlled by the Belgians as time passed by. They were upping the tempo with their fast offensive movement at will; however, they were unable to convert numerous chances in front of goal.
The US were obviously depending on launching a counter-attack every now and then; but were looking increasingly vulnerable at the back!
They attempted to press Belgium higher up the pitch as the half faded-out, with a view to attack more as the Bradley-Dempsey fulcrum dictated play down the middle; but, ultimately, the lack of physical presence in Belgium’s box (a consequence of Dempsey dropping deep to initiate play) made it difficult for them to score a goal.
Belgium started the first half with ferocious pace; barely allowing the US any time to properly adapt to the game. However, they lost possession in key areas sometimes and were too wasteful with the scoring opportunities they had!
Team USA slowly grew into the game; successfully slowing Belgium’s tempo at times while playing on the break for the most part. They, too, were unable to make the most of one or two really good chances in front of goal.
The second half began in a very similar fashion to the first; the Belgians pressing high from the off, but, again, unable to find the right pass into the box as the lack of a proper physical striker was beginning to hinder their offensive approach (think Lukaku!).
The match turned into a completely one-sided affair from that point, with Belgium coming closer and closer to scoring a goal with incredible misses and even more incredible saves from Tim Howard.
The US were nowhere close to being lethal enough up front; as Dempsey continuously dropped deep and left spaces in the box, which were then not occupied by anyone capable of finishing-off their attacks!
Belgium continued to attack in waves as Team USA defended deep; but the Belgians were lacking a real “cutting edge” to their forward momentum as they seemed unable to break through the US’ defense, while they were also in dire need of more precision in front of goal.
The shortage of urgency in Belgium’s build-up play, coupled with the missing physical presence in the final third (again, think Lukaku!) and the fact that they were too wasteful with chance after chance on goal, all hampered their chances of ever scoring a goal as Tim Howard was the only man performing on the US team.
It was an utterly one-sided story in the second half as Belgium tore the US apart in terms of chances created; but it was all pointless as they wasted most of them and were denied others by some great heroic saves from Tim Howard.
Team USA defended well at times but barely offered anything of notice in attack; being too passive in their approach and they only have their GK to thank for keeping the score at 0-0 after 90 minutes.
Lukaku, FINALLY, came on at the start of the first half of extra-time to inject that much needed physical presence in Belgium’s attacks.
It did not take that long though for the substitution to pay off, as Lukaku used his physique (surprise surprise :P) to force his way through the US’ box, after a quick counter-attack, and passed the ball to De Bruyne; who then pulled-back almost 3 US defenders, before turning and shooting for a 1-0 lead.
The US responded by trying to quickly press Belgium into their own half, but it was not working very well; for they were unable to create anything of notice from open play and were losing possession of the ball way too easily, amidst some very compact and sturdy Belgian defense.
Another quick counter-attack saw De Bruyne assisting Lukaku this time! The Belgium striker then blasting the ball past a distraught Howard for an unassailable (or so the Belgians thought!) 2-0 lead.
Lukaku was the obvious game-changer in that first half of extra-time; offering Belgium the missing element of physicality their play has been craving for so long prior to the substitution.
Meanwhile, the US were just too flat at the back and, fatigue or no fatigue, they were not able to do much with the ball as they lacked true creativity from midfield.
Just after the second half of extra-time began, the US brought the game back to life with a long ball from Bradley over and above Belgium’s backline, with youngster Green timidly volleying it into the back of the net to ensure a nail-biting end to this game (Alderweireld being at fault for that goal as he was too static in his reaction)!
Team USA threw bodies forward and were not holding anything back, while the Belgians suddenly began to look extremely flakey and nervous in defense, even though that they were still very dangerous on the break.
The US gave it their all in attack as they pumped urgency and flair into their offensive approach; but, sadly for them, it was not meant to be as the game came to an end.
Belgium were clearly the better side for well over 105 minutes of the game and should have concluded the game way earlier, had they not missed so many chances in front of goal.
The US, as always, showed real spirit in fighting back and did fairly okay in defense for most parts of the game (Tim Howard being especially brilliant).
Man of the match (the obvious choice would have been the aforementioned US GK, had Team USA won or even tied!):-
Kevin De Bruyne: He was directly involved in both of Belgium’s goals and was at the center-stage of almost every Belgian attack!
Ahmad Al-Omar - 2. Jul, 15:01
