Belgium National Football Team

Manager / Roberto Martinez
Appointed / August 2016
Captain / Eden Hazard
Top Scorer in Euro 2020 Qualifiers / Romelu Lukaku, 7
Top Scorer in Squad (Domestic season 2020-21) / Romelu Lukaku, 24 (Inter Milan, Serie A)
Most Carded in qualifying / Dries Mertens, 2 yellow cards.
Group / B, v Russia (St. Petersburg, 12/06/21), v Denmark (Copenhagen, 17/06/21), v Finland (St. Petersburg, 21/06/21)

* All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing *

Belgium Road to Euro 2020

Belgium made light work of their Euro 2020 qualifying group and stormed to a perfect 10 wins from 10 record. They were far and away the best performers in their group and rightly so given the quality they have in their squad. The Red Devils netted an impressive 40 goals, although 13 of those did come against San Marino who aren’t exactly expected to compete with Europe’s elite nations. What is more impressive is that they navigated their entire 10-game qualifying campaign conceding just three goals (two from Russia, one from Cyprus).

Roberto Martinez has his side playing an exciting brand of football and with the attacking talents of Romelu Lukaku, Kevin de Bruyne, Eden Hazard and more to call upon you would expect this to continue into Euro 2020 where they are odds-on favourites to win their group.

Belgium Euro 2020 Squad

Belgium’s squad is undoubtedly one of the strongest in the competition and on paper they are an incredibly intimidating bunch. Since Martinez took charge in 2016 he has largely succeeded in gelling several world-class talents into one side and having cemented themselves as the No. 1 ranked side in world football the one thing missing is a major title. Martinez’s only previous major tournament as Belgium boss was the 2018 World Cup where, despite being many people’s favourites and playing some good stuff, they were ultimately disappointed to only claim third place.

There seems to be a strong feeling that Belgium need to make the most of their talented ranks and win either this year’s Euros or next year’s World Cup. This is due to several of their star players not really having time on their sides. Eden Hazard is now 30 and his recent seasons have been plagued by injury. Toby Alderweireld is 32 while long-term CB partner Jan Vertonghen is 34. Lukaku is 28 and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois is 29. These are all key players for the Red Devils and while some may well play for a few more years you have to feel that they are in as good of a position as they ever will be.

Goalkeeper

Thibaut Courtois is Belgium’s No.1 and has been for some time now. Providing he doesn’t pick up any injuries I can’t see this changing ahead of Euro 2020. Former Liverpool No.1 Simon Mignolet and Strasbourg’s Mats Selz will be around to step in if needed. Courtois has been impressive between the sticks throughout his career and has experienced plenty of success whether playing for Atletico Madrid, Chelsea or Real Madrid where he is the current first choice. Mignolet is also a highly experienced keeper and should there be a problem for Courtois I’m sure Martinez won’t be losing too much sleep over having to bring him in. For all of Belgium’s attacking qualities it shouldn’t be overlooked that they are very well set in the goalkeeper position.

Defence

As mentioned earlier there are a few defensive players that are perhaps reaching the latter stages of their careers but with age comes experience. Thomas Vermaelen, Alderweireld and Vertonghen have together tallied up 312 appearances for their country and know exactly what It means to play at the top level. Martinez has established a firm 3-4-3 formation over the last few years and that is likely to be used again this summer. I think it’s likely that if fit Alderweireld and Vertonghen will be joined by Lyon’s Jason Denayer in a first choice back three. As much experience and quality that Belgium have in defence there are still weaknesses and opportunities perhaps for speedy attackers to expose their back line.

Midfield

Martinez is not short of options when it comes to midfielders and surprised some by choosing to include Axel Witsel in his squad. The midfielder has been a crucial piece of the Belgian puzzle for a while now and a torn Achilles in January has meant that he has not played a game of football since. Martinez alluded to the fact that while things are looking positive on the fitness front Witsel could be seen more in the knockout stages of the competition. That would suggest the Wolves’ Leander Dendoncker may partner Youri Tielemans in the centre of the park in the opening game. Either side the likes of Thorgan Hazard, Thomas Meunier and Yannick Carrasco will all be competing for a place in the starting 11 come June 12th.

I think it’s likely that talisman De Bruyne will play as part of the front three, but Martinez has been known to drop him back into the midfield from time to time and that would open up another spot in attack.

Attack

Lukaku was the top scorer in qualifying and is about as important as they come in terms of top goal scorers in this competition. He will lead the line for the Red Devils and it is an exciting thought that he could well be flanked by both Eden Hazard and De Bruyne. While Lukaku is likely to be a mainstay throughout and De Bruyne likely to be on the pitch for the majority in some capacity – if he is fit enough to do so after a double facial fracture in the UCL final – there are options for rotation among the Belgian ranks. Dries Mertens and Yannick Carrasco are two who could well be in the starting line-up and youngster Jeremy Doku could be one to watch if he is afforded any minutes.

Belgium predicted line-up vs. Russia: Courtois; Denayer, Alderweireld, Vertonghen; Muenier, Dendoncker, Tielemans, T. Hazard; E. Hazard, De Bruyne, Lukaku (3-4-3)

Belgium Euro 2020 Betting Tips & Predictions

Belgium will certainly have the realistic goal of topping their group and it looks as though Denmark will be the biggest hurdle for them to overcome in their opening three matches. Having said that they head into the tournament having beaten Denmark convincingly on two occasions in late 2020 and have proved they know exactly how to dispose of the organised Danes. So while I fancy Denmark to make a good run of it this summer, that will be an interesting match-up to keep an eye on.

Russia and Finland are the other two sides that make up Group B and in all honesty I expect they will be battling between themselves to avoid finishing fourth. Belgium qualified from the same group as Russia and put seven goals past their opponents over the two matches (3-1, 1-4). The Red Devils will surely be reminded of that in the dressing room ahead of their opening match where they meet Russia in St. Petersburg. Belgium are unsurprisingly odds-on favourites for the win but I like the look of a Belgium win and over 1.5 goals in this one (1.91) and I’d be confident of that comfortably landing.

Their opening match will be the ideal starting point for Lukaku to begin his quest for the Golden Boot, a race in which I’d very much expect him to be a key part of. In 2018’s World Cup he finished as the joint second-highest scorer with four goals in six games, only falling short of Harry Kane’s total of six. With the quality of players around him and a great record in the qualifiers I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see him right up there again in this tournament. He’s currently 7.5 to be top scorer and if his side manage to at least reach the semi-finals as I predict then there will be plenty of opportunities for him to get on the scoresheet.

That brings me nicely onto my predicted stage of elimination for Belgium. As mentioned I think it will be another ‘nearly’ year for Belgium that will ultimately end in disappointment as they are beaten in the semis. I do fancy them to play lots of impressive football throughout their time in the competition but assuming Belgium and France both win their groups and continue to progress, they will meet in the semi-final. In that match-up I don’t expect Belgium to be able to surpass the challenge that the French pose and at odds of 5.0 to be eliminated in the semis I think that is an appealing price.

Predicted stage of elimination: Semi Finals

How to watch Denmark v Belgium in Euro 2020

📅   When / Thursday, 17 June 2021, 17:00 BST
🏟   Where / Parken Stadium (Copenhagen)
📺   TV / BBC One, ZDF
📱   Online streaming / bet365