Belgium and Russia will have the honor of playing in the famed Maracana when they face each other on June 22nd in Group H play. It will be the ninth time that the two countries will have faced each other, with Russia leading the series with four wins against Belgium’s three. Russia come into the match after tying S. Korea 1-1, while Belgium will look to build on the momentum they gained in their 2-1 comeback win over Algeria.
Russia, despite not playing at their best against Korea, would likely have come out of their game with three points if it weren’t for a total goalkeeping blunder from Igor Akinfeev. Coach Fabio Capello in response to his teams 1-1 tie stated, “The goal they scored, it was not easy. But the reaction from my players was really good.” The Russians are going to have to be at the top of their game once more if they want to have any chance at seeing a result against Belgium. Fabio Capello’s teams have been known to build from the back, and it is no different with the Russians. They like to keep possession of the ball and work their way up the pitch. It will be interesting to see how that tactic pans out against a Belgian side that can counter with a deadly ferocity.
After a rather lackluster display against Algeria, the Belgians will have to play at a much higher level if they want to see a result against a good Russian squad. It was the super subs Marouane Fellaini and Dries Mertens that brought the Belgians the three points, so it will be interesting to see if coach Marc Wilmots elects to put either of them in the starting XI. There have been some concerns about captain Vincent Kompany’s fitness as he suffered a slight groin strain in the opening match. To the delight of the Belgians though, Wilmots a few days ago stated, “All being well, he will be back in training with the rest of the squad on Saturday.”
With the all the hype that has been put on Belgium, it will be interesting to see how they react after their performance against Algeria. Kickoff at the Maracana is set for 12:00PM EST and can be seen on ABC, ESPN Deportes and Univision. For those not able to watch the game on TV, WatchESPN will be streaming all live games directly from here. For a Spanish live steam you can watch the match here.
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