Game 15 Preview: Belgium vs. Algeria

BELGIUM vs. ALGERIA

 Date: June 17, 2014

Time: 12:00 p.m. EDT

Venue: Estadio Mineirao, Belo Horizonte

Overall Head-to-Head Record (W-L-T): 1-0-1 Belgium

Last Match: 2003 Friendly. Belgium def. Algeria 3-1.

Line: Belgium -250

Group H Preview here.

Starting Lineups posted separately once they're announced.

Team Profiles 

World Ranking: Belgium (11th), Algeria (22nd)

Managers: Marc Wilmots (BEL), Vahid Halilhodzic (ALG)

Captains: Vincent Kompany (BEL), Madjid Bougherra (ALG)

World Cup Appearances: 12 (BEL), 4 (ALG)

Best Finish: Belgium (Fourth Place, 1986), Algeria (Group Stage, Last in 2010)

Qualifying Records: Belgium (8-0-2, GF: 18, GA: 4), Algeria (6-2-0, GF: 16, GA: 7)

Pre-Tournament Game Results

Belgium

June 1st - Belgium def. Sweden 2-0
June 7th - Belgium def. Tunisia 1-0

Algeria

May 31st - Algeria def. Armenia 3-1
June 4th - Algeria def. Romania 2-1

Rosters

Injuries/Discipline

Belgium: Sammy Bossut (Out - Calf)

Algeria: N/A

Overview

Algeria and Belgium kick off Group H in the 2014 World Cup and both boast enormous potential with their young teams.

Algeria enters with the dubious record of having one of the longest scoring droughts in World Cup history, having not scored in their past 5 matches, dating back to a 1986 game against Northern Ireland. They'll have a tall order to end that streak as they go up against a Belgian team that is near-flawless in all aspects of the game.

Called a darkhorse by every pundit, Belgium has used their current generation of young players to spring back in to a major tournament for the first time in over a decade. Despite a 12 year absence, there are enormous expectations on this Belgian squad, who could conceivably return their entire starting XI in 2018 without seeing a drop in their form.

Belgium will employ their standard 4-2-3-1 formation led in both ends by Romelu Lukaku up front and Thibaut Courtois on the back end. Solid defensively, creative in the midfield and potent finishers up front, Algeria will face a tall task in stopping the Group H favourites.

Algeria are no slouch themselves though particularly in the offensive end. Their defensive brand of football gave teams fits in the 2010 World Cup and they've added speed and technical ability up front particularly with some young wingers. Dangerous on the counter-attack, Belgium will have to be wary of what can happen if they turn the ball over in the midfield.

Personnel

In the Belgian Third: If there's a hole in this Belgium team, it's that in order to get their best XI on the field at once, they essentially play 4 centre-backs on the defensive line. They're athletic enough to cover space outside but Algeria's wingers will have chances to expose them. Advantage: Even

In the Midfield: Algeria's strength is primarily up front in attack and not through the centre of the field. Belgium will pass circles around them if they are given the opportunity. Advantage: Belgium

In the Algerian Third: Those same Belgian midfielders can all attack the opposing penalty area or look for Romelu Lukaku up front as a target man. This is a questionable area for Algeria and the part of the field they're prone to experiencing letdowns in. Advantage: Belgium

Goalkeeping: Could be Zemmamouche or M'Bolhi in goal for Algeria but no backstop for Algeria can match the pedigree of Courtois in the other end. Advantage: Belgium

Belgium will win if:

They keep their composure, control the ball through the midfield and patiently probe the Algerian defence. Turnovers will frighten Belgium with the Algerian ability to get up field quickly. And as Ghana showed yesterday, they can't be content to just send lobs in to Lukaku. Keeping their cool may be the biggest thing though. No member of the Belgian squad has ever been in a tournament of this magnitude for their country, let alone with the expectations they have.

Algeria will win if:

They can be aggressive on the ball and use their speed to break down the Belgian back line. Algeria will sit back for the most part and against a team as dangerous as this that's fine. But teams are too often wary of counter-attacking Belgium to aggressively lest they lose their defensive shape. Algeria will have to take that risk. They have speed up high to beat Belgian players 1-on-1 but only if they're willing to risk extending themselves too high to use it.

Prediction

The best young team in the world, Belgium is expected to top this group. On paper, Russia would be the biggest challenger but having looked deeper at this I think Algeria can make a run for second. It's a dangerous opening game for Belgium but they have the depth and quality to get the job done. Algeria will break their goalless drought in this tournament. I don't think it will be today though.

Belgium 2-0 Algeria