Three things we learnt from the Belgium v Tunisia Game

Belgium coasted to victory when they faced Tunisia on Saturday in Moscow which seems them take pole position to top Group G ahead of their last game against England. 

Roberto Martinez’s Belgium team managed to bag 5 goals against the North Africans which sent out a message to other World Cup favorites that they are a force to be reckoned with. 

The game started quickly with Eden Hazard winning a penalty in the opening moments of the game that he converted himself that ensured that the Tunisian defensive game plan was torn to pieces. 

Romuelu Lukaku then doubled his World Cup tally with two superb finished which sees them equal Ronaldo’s 4 goals in Russia. Hazard then added to his penalty by scoring Belgium’s fourth goal by going around the keeper and slotting home. 

Substitute and Chelsea striker, Michy Batshuayi then furthered Belgium’s lead by scoring one of his many chances in the 90^thminute. Tunisia, however, got the last word when Wahbi Khazari added a second consolation goal as he made a run o from 8-yards to tap in a low cross. 

From an exciting game, here are three things England and Belgium’s future World Cup opponents may have learned from their 5-2 rout of Tunisia: 

1. Martinez has found a system that includes all of Belgium’s attacking prowess

In both of their games, Roberto Martinez has fielded a direct attacking team that aims to be aggressive from the outset. The Spanish manager has found a system that incorporates all of Belgium’s key attacking players and the bold move seems to be paying off with the Red Devils now equalling home nation Russia in being the top scorers.  

With a front three of Hazard, Lukaku and Dries Mertens, this Belgium side was always going to infuse fear into team’s defenses, as they were involved in a total of 99 goals last season for their clubs.

With the Premier League’s top assist merchant, Kevin De Bruyne, sitting behind this frightening front three the team was always likely to produce goals but Martinez’s 3-4-2-1 formation seems to be allowing this team to play with freedom. 

Alex Witsel provides support for both full-backs, Yannick Carrasco and Thomas Meunier when they frequently bomb forward to aid Belgium’s attack. The shear numbers they attack in sliced open that Tunisian defense which caused England so many problems on Monday night. 

2.     Belgium’s defense is not as impressive as their attack 

After facing Panama, the 5^thlowest ranked team at this World Cup, Tunisia showed to be worthy opponents as they revealed that there are holes in Belgium’s defense after they scored two goals.

The first came from a set piece, as a Khazari free-kick found defender Bronn who nodded past Courtois. This will be an obvious area to focus on for England, who already have scored two goals from set-pieces and will be looking to exploit this weakness shown by the Belgium defense. 

With the captain, Vincent Kompany being injured the back-three consists of Celtic’s Dedryck Boyata, Jan Vertonghen, and Toby Alderwiereld. This was a huge blow to Roberto Martinez as he is now having to rely on a trio of defenders who have not played consistently at the national level. 

I’m sure Gareth Southgate will be looking to ensure England make the most out of their chances when the pair meet next Thursday as Tunisia’s two goals proved that they will come. 

3.     Hazard is growing into his new role as captain 

When Vincent Kompany was ruled out of the competition with a groin injury, manager Roberto Martinez had to look for another leader within the squad to fill that void left by the vocal center-back. Many were surprised when he chose Hazard as his replacement, but the Chelsea player has shown he is worthy of the armband. 

After the Panama game, he was critical of his team’s performance despite winning one-nil as he stated that players went missing at times and that with their quality they should have scored a lot more goals. 

On the pitch, he was seen to be shouting to his teammates while also setting an example through his own performance. He won and scored the penalty that put his side ahead in the 6^thminute, while also showing composure in gaining his second to put his team 4-1 up. 

His performance against Tunisia was said to had left Kevin De Bruyne in the shadows as he showcased quality attacking play to release Lukaku and Martens’ countless times. It is no surprise that Hazard has been involved in 23 goals in his last 23 appearances for the national side and I am sure that he will be eager to add to that tally when the Red Devils met England in their final game.