Belgium v England
England will face Belgium on Saturday in their final preparation match at Wembley Stadium, drawing in a capacity crowd for the occasion before they fly out to the European Championships. This Belgian side will give England a proper test, vital for new manager Roy Hodgson as he mulls over his starting XI to face France on June 11, but they are more than capable of inflicting a morale-damaging defeat.
The Three Lions won 1-0 against Norway in Oslo last Saturday to give Hodgson a victory in his first match in charge of the national team. Hodgson revealed it is likely that the side who take to the field against Belgium on Saturday may well do so against the French, although he admits the performances of some of his fringe squad members in the win over Norway has given him food for thought. Ashley Young scored the goal with a fine solo effort after nine minutes to secure England’s first win over the Norwegians since 1980 and give the team a confidence boost ahead of Euro 2012. He has proved he is the man to fill Wayne Rooney’s boots at the Euro. Playing behind Andy Carroll in the 1-0 win, he is the man Hodgson believes can provide the inspiration while Rooney is suspended for the opening two games of the tournament against France and Sweden. Young, who scored in his fourth successive international, said: “I’ve played in many positions. That role against Norway is a position I’ve played in before and I was pleased with my performance.” England went unbeaten in their qualifying group for the Euro with five wins and three draws in their eight matches, scoring 17 goals and conceding just five.
Belgium, who should have qualified for the Euro with all the quality they have in their squad, will use this match as preparation for the World Cup qualifiers that will start in September. Lille’s outstanding Eden Hazard – who recently chose a move to Chelsea over Manchester City and Manchester United next season – is their biggest and most high profile talent. They also boast Jan Vertonghen (Ajax), Thomas Vermaelen (Arsenal), Vincent Kompany (Manchester City), Daniel Van Buyten (Bayern) and Marouane Fellaini (Everton) among their ranks. There is also further well regarded talents such as Steven Defour (Porto), Alex Witsel (Benfica), Moussa Dembele (Fulham) and Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea) for England to keep an eye on. It’s not difficult to understand why Belgium have such high hopes for the 2014 World Cup with such quality talents. Belgium faced Montenegro last weekend with the match ending in a 2-2 draw and Eden Hazard getting on the scoresheet. Montenegro were the team that finished second in England’s Euro qualifying group, holding England to draws in both matches.
England will be inspired playing in-front of a sold out Wembley Stadium. However, Belgium possesses a strong defence and have capable attacking players to bury any team. England did well last weekend but will have to improve considerably in their attacking display to be feared in the Euro Championships. The draw is tipped.
