Belgium Team Preview – Overview
Amazingly despite the raft of top players they have produced in recent times this will be the first time Belgium have featured at the tournament since 2000 but if their squad can peak and perform to its individual potential then they are quite capable of emulating the 1972 side which finished third in the tournament at the first attempt.
Given that they co-hosted in 2000 this is the first time since 1984 that Belgium have qualified for the tournament and they did so by topping a group with Wales in behind them. There wasn’t much convincing about their qualifying campaign but it doesn’t need to be convincing it just needs them to make it here which they did.
Statistics
Best Performance – 3rd Place (1972)
Previous Appearances – 4 (1972, 1980, 1984 & 2000)
Qualified – Group B Winners
Qualifying Record
P-10 W-7 D-2 L-1 GF-24 GA-5 PTS-23
Fixtures
Belgium vs Italy – Monday 13th June, kickoff 20:00 at Parc OL, Lyon
Belgium vs Republic of Ireland – Saturday 18th June, kickoff 14:00 at Matmut Atlantique, Bordeaux
Sweden vs Belgium – Wednesday 22nd June, kickoff 20:00 at Allianz Riviera, Nice
Squad
Manager: Marc Wilmots
Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea), Simon Mignolet (Liverpool), Jean-Francois Gillet (Mechelen).
Defenders: Toby Alderweireld (Tottenham), Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham, Thomas Vermaelen (Barcelona), Jason Denayer (Galatasaray), Jordan Lukaku (Oostende), Thomas Meunier (Club Brugges), Laurent Ciman (Montreal Impact), Christian Kabasele (Genk).
Midfielders: Moussa Dembele (Tottenham), Radja Nainggolan (Roma), Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United), Axel Witsel (Zenit St Petersburg), Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Dries Mertens (Napoli), Yannick Carrasco (Atletico Madrid).
Forwards: Mitchy Batshuayi (Marseille), Romelu Lukaku (Everton), Christian Benteke (Liverpool), Divock Origi (Liverpool).
Betting
The only Belgium market I’m interested in is the top goalscorer one. They will come out of the group but how the draw develops from there will determine how much further they go so none of the group markets are of real interest to me.
There are plenty of egos in this Belgian squad, perhaps none more so than Eden Hazard and the Chelsea player is my pick to be their top goalscorer in the tournament. He has had a pathetic Premier League season but he finished it with the sort of flourish that suggests he is ready to make a big impression in this tournament.
Romelu Lukaku is a worthy favourite in the market but I’m not so sure he’ll find the space he likes in the early stages so that is a concern and he didn’t offer much in the World Cup two years ago either. Kevin de Bruyne matched Hazard’s five goals in qualifying and he’s a threat too but at the higher price of the three I like Hazard.
He has that bit of trickery that can unlock doors and open up defences and perhaps more importantly he will be on penalties so at 5/1 the Chelsea man is my pick here.
Tips
Back E.Hazard Top Belgium Tournament Goalscorer for a 2/10 stake at 6.00 with Bwin
Back him here:
