Frank LorenzoThe meeting of two Europeans teams in the World Cup group H puts Belgium and Russia against each other this Sunday, June 22, at 12 PM ET at the Estádio Maracanã, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The meeting of two Europeans teams in the World Cup group H puts Belgium and Russia against each other this Sunday, June 22, at 12 PM ET at the Estádio Maracanã, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
This is arguably the best game of the group, with Belgium looking to get to the next round as quickly as possible after beating Algeria 2-1, and Russia trying to stay alive after drawing against South Korea.
Belgium is a fun team to watch, but they had several problems against Algeria; they need to play with more movement and speed this time.
“If we play against a wall, we have to learn to be patient,” said Belgium coach Marc Wilmots.
“They are not the fastest players in the world. With our speedy forwards, we should be able to exploit that weakness”, said Belgian defender Nicolas Lombaerts, who plays his club football in Russia for Zenit St Petersburg.
Russia needs to look better in the counterattack, especially considering they almost lost to South Korea with an error by the goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev.
“My players reacted well after the opening goal and it was the best possible birthday present (Capello turned 68 on Wednesday) they could have given me. Even so, I’m a little disappointed because we could have won the game”, said Russia’s coach Fabbio Capello.
The oddsmakers have Belgium as the favorite in the money line listed +105 to win and Russia is +300; the draw was rated at +240 for this game.
