Playing 'favourites' Brazil a dream for Belgium: Martinez

Kevin De Bruyne's mercurial talent is indisputable and Romelu Lukaku will be a powerful force up front, so the big question for Belgium heading to the World Cup in Qatar is whether they can get the best out of playmaker Eden Hazard.

The Real Madrid midfielder has barely played in the Spanish capital this season but Belgium coach Roberto Martinez has kept faith and started him in both Nations League games in September.

Injuries and a loss of form have pushed Hazard down the pecking order at his club, and that in turn has raised questions about the 31-year-old's place in the national side and whether he will be in peak condition in Qatar.

Belgium coach Roberto Martinez. Photo: Reuters

"The lack of minutes and game time is there but he is in a good mindset and is looking forward to being on the pitch," Martinez told reporters. "I see an energy and a happiness around Eden, which I did not see six months ago."

Hazard played for more than an hour against Wales and Netherlands in September and, while there was some rustiness, there were also flashes of the player who was such a key man for Chelsea in the Premier League before his 2019 switch to Madrid.

He remains an important figure in the Belgium dressing room, having featured in all but one of their 12 games at the 2014 and 2018 World Cups.

He captained the side to their best-ever finish four years ago, their third place helping him to win the Silver Ball as the second-best player at the tournament. That is the footballer Martinez is desperate to resurrect.

Experience and guile are perhaps now his biggest attributes and his coach will know that when it gets to the latter rounds in Qatar, he needs players with cool heads and leadership on the pitch.

Photo: Reuters

Despite the emergence of De Bruyne as potentially the best midfielder in the world, Hazard is still viewed as the leader of the country's Golden Generation under Martinez, having made his international debut aged 17 in 2008.

"I know what I can do. Now I want to get in shape for the World Cup. I'm happiest when I play," Hazard told RTL. "When I play, I give it my all. I've always said the old Eden Hazard will come back when he plays. I just need to get back into the rhythm."

Hazard may be a risk given his situation in Madrid but, with Martinez able to select 26 players in his squad for Qatar, it is surely one worth taking.

BELGIUM HAVE ALL THE TOOLS TO CRAFT A WORLD CUP TROPHY WIN

Photo: Reuters

For many of Belgium's Golden Generation, the World Cup in Qatar represents a last shot at football immortality and victory would be a crowning glory for a side that have no trophies to show for their outstanding talent and huge promise.

Many of their leading players are over the age of 30 and only a few will be around for the next World Cup in 2026, so it is now or never for most to turn their bronze medal from four years ago into the coveted gold.

They have a settled squad and a strong technical team under Spanish coach Roberto Martinez, whose contract comes to an end after the World Cup.

He counts among his assistants 1998 World Cup winner Thierry Henry.

Belgium have gone into past tournaments full of promise and been left wondering what might have been, while their form over the last year has been patchy and below par.

A third-place finish in Russia after semi-final defeat to France was their best showing yet at a World Cup, but they clearly wanted more.

A quarter-final loss to Italy at Euro 2020 was also a bitter disappointment in a competition where they were among the favourites.

They can at least say that, on both those occasions, they went out to the eventual champions.

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Full fixtures of FIFA World Cup 2022

Belgium face Croatia, Morocco and Canada in Group F in Qatar, a pool they should be able to negotiate comfortably, even if publicly the ever-amicable Martinez is wary.

"Croatia are always a competitive team at international level, and Morocco? They're a team we know very well because there are many (Moroccan) players who play in Belgium and have dual nationality," Martinez told TSN.

"Canada, for us, is always a hidden threat. We followed their qualification in CONCACAF and it's been impressive to see this team, with their consistency, with their energy and youth and team spirit that they have –- and getting results against USA and Mexico. It's going to be a really, really competitive group."

Belgium have an abundance of quality in attack, with creativity, speed and guile, but defensively they have struggled and that problem was starkly laid bare when they were thumped 4-1 at home by Netherlands in June.

Before their 1-0 loss to the same Dutch side in their last international in September, they had scored in an astonishing 49 consecutive games since the defeat by the same scoreline to France at the 2018 World Cup.

Conversely, since October 2021 they have kept only two clean sheets in 12 games -- against Poland and minnows Burkina Faso.

Photo: Reuters

But Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois is among the best in the world, while the defensive pairing of Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen have an astonishing 264 caps between them.

Martinez can marry the vast experience of midfielders Axel Witsel, Eden Hazard and the mercurial Kevin De Bruyne with the energy of Leandro Trossard, Youri Tielemans and maybe wildcard Amadou Onana.

Photo: Reuters

Up front there are powerful options in Romelu Lukaku, if he can overcome his recent injury problems, Michy Batshuayi and new man Lois Openda.

Photo: Reuters

All the tools are there, but can Martinez craft something meaningful with them?

BELGIUM AT THE WORLD CUP

Following is a statbox on Belgium at the World Cup.

FIFA Ranking: 2

Odds: 12-1

Previous tournaments:

Belgium have qualified for eight of the last 10 World Cup tournaments, missing out in 2006 and 2010, and were one of four European nations at the very first in Uruguay in 1930. Their best finish is a bronze medal in 2018 when they beat England to third, while their only other semi-final appearance was in Mexico in 1986 when they lost to Diego Maradona's Argentina and finished fourth. They have been to 13 World Cups in all.

How they qualified:

They went unbeaten in their eight qualifiers, winning six of them, and had little trouble topping a group that also contained Wales, Czech Republic, Estonia and Belarus. They scored 25 goals, more than three per game, and conceded six with a haul of 20 points that was five more than the second-placed Welsh. They dropped points only in Cardiff and Prague.

Form guide:

Home and away losses to Netherlands, including a 4-1 defeat in Brussels, made for a disappointing recent Nations League campaign, but Belgium have proved they have goals in them. Their 1-0 defeat in Amsterdam was the first time in 50 matches they had failed to score, dating back to a loss by the same margin to France at the 2018 World Cup. Keeping clean sheets has been a issue against more fancied teams and that could be an Achilles heel later in the tournament in Qatar. Since the start of October 2021, Belgium have won five of their 12 internationals, losing four and with three draws. The highlight was a 6-1 home win over Poland in June.

Can Croatia cross one final hurdle come Sunday night and become the ninth nation to win the World Cup? Standing in their way are France, whose sole ambition will be to claim that coveted piece of glory for the second time at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium.

As an independent nation, Croatia might not have a rich history as far as their participation in the biggest show on Earth is concerned but since their World Cup debut in 1998, eight years after being liberated from Yugoslavia, it has been a spectacular journey for them.

Coincidentally, it was also the year that France became the seventh nation to win the World Cup, which was on their home soil, by defeating Brazil 3-0 in the final.

More interestingly, it was France who shattered Croatia's dreams by defeating their first 'golden generation' in the semifinal of that tournament 2-1, thanks to two quick blows from Les Bleus defender Lilian Thuram after Croatia's Davor Suker had scored in the 46th minute.

Even in that defeat, Croatia became only the second team after Portugal to have the best finish as debutants. They were placed third following a 2-1 win over Holland in the position deciding game, where Suker scored his sixth goal to win the Golden Boot.

If that was a big statement by an up and coming footballing nation, then the exploits of their next generation, now marshalled by Luka Modric, is no less spectacular as they have reached the finals despite a below-par qualifying campaign.

Croatia launched their campaign in Russia with a 2-0 win against Nigeria before pulling off a magnificent 3-0 win against two-time winners Argentina. They beat Iceland in the last group league game to move into the round of 16 with the maximum number of points.

And in the last three knockout games, where they had to battle it out beyond regulation time, Croatia showed tenacity and the will to fight till the end.

Croatia's round of 16 game against Denmark was a classic example of their never-say-die attitude. After conceding an early goal, they equalised and took the game to extra time, where Modric missed a penalty. However, the Real Madrid midfielder showed courage and stepped up in the shootout to convert his spot kick.

In the quarterfinal against hosts Russia, which they won in the shootout after a 2-2 draw, they faced a similar scenario. This was also the case in the semifinal against England before Mario Mandzukic hit the winner in the 109th minute.

The Juventus forward might not be as prolific as Suker was on the big stage but he has the knack of scoring goals from out of nowhere. Croatia actually have individual winners in Modric, Ivan Rakitic, Ante Rebic and Ivan Perisic, the Inter Milan forward who has been in fine form.

Croatia's last three games might have started slowly but gradually picked up with the progression of the game, which is a hallmark of a good team.

They also showed how athletically fit they are as they had to play for 120 minutes in all three previous games.

Against England at Saint Petersburg, many thought it would be impossible for them to survive if the game went beyond regulation time. Surprisingly though, it was England who slowed down as the game progressed. In addition, when the Turkish referee blew the final whistle, Croatia were heading for another crack at the goal.

France midfielder Paul Pogba previously said that he wants to earn his own star on the shirt on Sunday. However, the world will not be surprised to a see the birth of a new star.

Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic gave Russian President Vladimir Putin a Croatian soccer shirt with the name "Putin" printed on the back on Sunday, hours before Croatia play France in the World Cup final in Moscow.

Croatia has been caught up in soccer fever after the Balkan nation of 4.2 million people swept aside more fancied opponents to reach its first ever World Cup final, which Russia is hosting this year.

Grabar-Kitarovic has, herself, entered into the spirit of the occasion, travelling to Russia to watch matches and dressing in the colours of the national flag. Croatia knocked Russia's team out of the competition in the quarter-finals.

At a Kremlin meeting, Putin congratulated the Croatian president on the Croatian team's performance.

"I'm sure we will see a beautiful game today," he said. Grabar-Kitarovic thanked Putin for what she said was the successful organisation of the competition.

Putin presented her with a bouquet of flowers, while she gave the Russian leader the Croatian national shirt.

France were 2-1 ahead against Croatia at halftime in the World Cup final after a pulsating opening 45 minutes at the Luzhniki Stadium on Sunday.

France took the lead when Croatia forward Mario Mandzukic, who scored the extra-time winner over England in the semi-final, inadvertently headed home an Antoine Griezmann free-kick in the 18th minute for the first own goal in a World Cup final.

Croatia's Ivan Perisic, who had also scored in the semi-final, levelled with a powerful shot 10 minutes later after France had failed to clear a Luka Modric free-kick.

But Perisic was then responsible for conceding a penalty for handball that was give following a VAR decision and Griezmann coolly converted the spot-kick in the 38th to put the French back in front.

More to follow..