Belgium-Croatia: Belgian players ready for EURO
The Red Devils group had done a little their supporters shudder during their friendly against Greece. But this second opus of their preparation for the Euro 2020 will have had the good taste to reassure everyone, even if the score is not that of a forfeit.
A Red Devils team redesigned
The first thing that strikes the (tele) spectator at the start of the match is the way Roberto Martinez drew conclusions from the first friendly meeting of the week. Indeed, no less than six changes have been made in his base eleven. What to return to automatic mechanisms which we will see that they are paying.
Despite this, the first quarter of an hour is once again difficult. The Croats have an almost unchallenged possession of the ball and it will be necessary that the Belgian coach shouts on the edge of the field so that his men take again a more axial place in order to penetrate the Croatian wall.
Double transverse and 60 e goal
Very quickly, Martinez's men regain the upper hand and grab the leather, causing the Croats to run - and this is a paradox - like devils. At the half hour, Romelu Lukaku, in a return of which he has the secret, sees the ball crash into the crossbar. Yannick Carrasco who, throughout the match will have shown the energy of great players, does not not miss the opportunity to jump head first on the rebound, but his strike ends, again, on the crossbar.
It didn't take much more to revitalize the whole team which, a few minutes later, after a corner kick given by a master's foot by Dries Mertens, will give Romelu Lukaku his sixtieth goal for the national team. And when we know that the guy is only at his 93rd th selection, we can speak of an achievement.
Some failures of Devils lacking automatism
If the Red Devils have shown good control of the ball, we regret that some finishes lack precision. But again, like Yannick Carrasco who did not miss an opportunity to show that he wanted to score, this is an adjustment that the Red Devils will be able to finalize by the first match. counting for Euro 2020, against Russia.
The return of Eden Hazard and the consistency of Thibault Courtois
The other good news of the match is that Roberto Martinez has decided to offer playing time to Eden Hazard. Granted, he won't have played ten actual minutes, but after not being drafted for the Red Devils for almost two years, it deserved to be noticed. He will also have the opportunity to show that certain automatisms, in particular with his brother Thorgan, will not take long to reappear.
A remarkable point is also the quality of a goalkeeper like Thibault Courtois. Indeed, if we cannot say that he was put to the test during the 90 minutes of the match, it is during the stoppage of play that he will show that he can stay focused until the last minute. His reflex stop will in fact prevent the Red Devils from returning to the locker room with a share.
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