Belgium vs Tunisia
Belgium’s “Golden Generation” is the real deal, and they are ready to show it again.
Despite their ranking as the third-best footballing nation, Belgium have often been left out of conversations on potential World Cup 2018 winners. However, with the favourites struggling early and the reigning champions even losing their opener, the Belgian Red Devils made a statement and started the tournament in remarkable fashion.
Now, as they play their second match in Group G, Belgium will look to further establish their case as real “dark horses.”
Talking Points
Sure enough, the Belgium vs Tunisia game isn’t the most exciting. The casual fan would even say that it won’t be a challenge for the Red Devils and that the real test for Roberto Martinez’ men is when they play England, the other favourite to move past the group stage.
However, make no mistake, every nation in World Cup 2018 came to Russia to compete; and Tunisia showed that when they almost pulled off a huge 1-1 draw with the Three Lions, before a Harry Kane header in stoppage time drained their hopes.
More amazingly, the Eagles of Carthage did so despite losing their first-choice keeper Mouez Hassen to a shoulder injury 15 minutes into the fight.
The Tunisians are expected to play with the same mixture of rugged and bold defending, something which they hope is enough to stop a star-studded Belgian frontline that features the likes of Romelu Lukaku, Eden Hazard, Dries Mertens and Kevin De Bruyne.
For Belgium, while they did show they have what it takes to win all their matches, there’s still plenty of room for improvement. After all, it is not until the second half of their game against Panama that they found the back of the net.
Consistent clinical finishing will be key for the team to bag a convincing victory against their African opponents. They had six shots on target against the Canaleros and could have won by a landslide, but they missed plenty of chances in the early stages and allowed Panama to organise their defence.
They can’t repeat the same mistake against a more defensively sound team like Tunisia.
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Furthermore, Belgium need Lukaku to be “more involved.” Hazard pointed that out after he commented that the Manchester United man was “hiding” during the Panama affair.
The 25-year-old Lukaku is a player who can make an impact without dominating possession, but his seven touches in the first half of the Panama match is head-scratching to say the least. He can’t score if the ball won’t be provided to him!
Lukaku made up for his mistakes and scored two second-half goals, so that should be a good sign for Belgium heading into this fixture at Spartak Stadium.
“We need him to be more involved in the team game in order to find him. We talked at halftime [versus Panama] and in the second half he moved more and scored twice, I’m not saying that I’m right but he knows he has to be more involved,” Hazard added.
On the other hand, another player to watch out for is Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. The Chelsea man was spectacular as he anchored the Red Devils’ defence and should be an influential figure in this match as well.
History
The men in red shirts might be the better team, but the previous Belgium-Tunisia results will give their minnow opponents some hope.
Belgium and Tunisia have met three times before, winning one each and drawing the other. The Eagles of Carthage last won in 1992, but they can boast the fact that they held Belgium to a 1-1 draw in their lone World Cup meeting back in 2002.
Furthermore, their latest meeting—a friendly in 2014—ended with just a 1-0 scoreline in favour of Belgium. For what it’s worth, Mertens hit a late winner in that contest to give the Belgians their first victory against the African side.
What are the odds?
Considering their contrasting fortunes in the opener, it’s no wonder why the Red Devils are favourites to win.
In fact, Belgium vs Tunisia betting odds put the third-ranked European nation at 1X2 @ 1.34, while 21st-ranked Tunisia are at 9.25.
Moreover, following their three-goal explosion, Belgium are expected to replicate their success. SBOBET Asian Handicap sports betting gives them a -1.25 handicap at 1.83, with Tunisia at 2.11 with that start.
Don’t expect Tunisia to score too, with our Correct Score odds pointing to a 1-0 or 2-0 Belgium win as the most probable result.
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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