The group winners had a flawless record going into the final game of the last sixteen, leaving it to Belgium to complete the set. They took a 100% record from Group H, but didn’t really impress and the United States had every right to be confident of heading through to face Argentina. Both teams lined up in 4-2-3-1s, with Belgium reverting to the eleven that beat Russia minus injured Thomas Vermaelen at left-back and underperforming Romelu Lukaku, Jan Vertonghen and Divock Origi standing in, while Jurgen Klinsmann brought back Alejandro Bedoya for Brad Davis on the left and replaced Kyle Beckerman with Stoke City defender Geoff Cameron in midfield after losing to Germany. The key battle in this game was set up to be Fabian Johnson against Eden Hazard. The Chelsea has been underwhelming thus far, yet he is the only Belgian attacker who can genuinely claim to be world class, meaning Johnson would have to keep close to him. Nevertheless, Hazard doesn’t track back and Johnson has arguably been the biggest threat for the United States storming up from full-back. Would this be like against Portugal, where Ronaldo’s refusal to track Johnson surrendered the Portuguese control of the match, […]
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