Belgium is leery of going up against a team like Canada at the World Cup who have nothing to lose.
“I understand the team in 2018 was exceptional and everybody had reached an exceptionally high level with their teams and in Belgium; the entire squad was at a high level,” Belgium defender Jan Vertonghen said on Tuesday. “I understand you may have some doubts now, also in view of the results. A couple of players who were leaders at the time are no longer playing for us. We are really missing them now and they have been replaced.
“We’ve been preparing for this game, Canada has a great squad and they’ve qualified for the first time since 1986,” Vertonghen said. “They’re strong defensively, and in transition, they have a lot of speed, so we have to be prepared for this, that’s why our game against Egypt was a good wake-up call.Article content
“The friendly was a very important game because it was the only time where we had two training sessions and then we played in a game,” Martinez said. “We took that game like a competitive training session, and in many ways, we were able to get a lot of information; a lot of things we could work on and I think that was a very good starting point.
Another loss to the Netherlands in September, prior to the Egypt defeat, perhaps makes Belgium less formidable than they were in the past. “First of all, I have huge respect with what Canada has achieved, because when you finish top of the group ahead of national teams like USA and Mexico, that means there is a real substance; it’s not a coincidence you arrive at the World Cup,” Martinez said. “We know how difficult it is to get to the World Cup and for Canada it’s only the second time — the first one was in 1986 — so straight away you know this generation has something very, very special.
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