Belgium vs Russia: World’s no. 1 side aim to kick off EUROS with a roar
Belgium will be looking to assert themselves as the number one side in the world as they take on Russia in their EURO 2020 opener. The Three Lions come into this tournament as the top ranked side in the world, and will be hoping to win what will be their first ever major international title this summer. There are some who have doubts about Belgium’s ranking, and Roberto Martinez’s men will be keen on proving those doubters wrong once and for all. At EURO 2016, Belgium experienced disappointment as they were shocked in the quarter-finals by Wales, who beat them 3-1 to dump them out, and with a team boasting stars like Romelu Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard, and Dries Mertens, there are nothing but high expectations for Belgium at the multi city, multi-national event this summer.
Belgium cruised through qualifiers without breaking a sweat, winning all ten of their games to pick up a maximum of 30 points. However, their performance in warm-up friendlies hasn’t been what fans are used to seeing. The Red Devils picked up a drab draw with Greece and had to work harder than expected to grind out a narrow 1-0 win over Croatia, and there are fitness concerns regarding De Bruyne and Hazard heading into this competition. That being said, Belgium’s bench is the envy of many teams, and they’re fortunate to get a really comfortable group, with debutants Finland, Russia, and Denmark for company. Indeed, only Denmark looks to be their trickiest opponent, as the Scandinavians have some talented players themselves within their ranks that could ask questions of many other teams at this tournament.
Despite Belgium’s less than inspiring showings in their warm-up games, the Red Devils do come into this upcoming competition on a nine match unbeaten streak. Lukaku enjoyed a fine season in front of goal as he was a key protagonist in Inter’s Scudetto winning season, and De Bruyne also played a huge role in Manchester City’s highly successful trophy winning campaign as well. That’s not to mention Belgium’s excellent record against Russia, where they’ve won five and drawn two of their seven meetings; in fact, the Red Devils have never lost to the Eastern European nation and it’s hard to see that record changing this Saturday.
Russia did do well in qualifiers, winning eight and losing just two of their ten games. Those two defeats were to none other than Belgium. Stanislav Cherchesov’s men will naturally be hoping to get a spot of revenge on Belgium, but that looks set to be a pipe dream at best. Although they do have a fully fit squad, it’s hard to see them getting much out of this match as there’s still a huge gulf in class between the two sides. Belgium may be missing a few key players, with De Bruyne a definite absentee here and Hazard potentially still not 100 percent fit, but the Red Devils still will have enough to see off their opponents and head into their next fixture with three points in hand as they aim to finally silence their doubters and add an international title to their trophy cabinet.
