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Surprised how strong Belgium look

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If anything it's baffling why they've always been so inferior compared to Germany and Holland.

 
Davey Baby said:
^ Germany and Italy are obviously contenders.

Italy don't have the players IMO.

Germany don't have the coach.

Edit: Brazil v Spain final looks the most likely.
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Quite true, but do Belgium? I've seen nothing from Wilmots to make me believe he's any better than Löw. Certainly he won't have quite the same calibre of players in 2014 as Jogi will.

 
^ I don't actually know anything about Belgium's coach. You usually know about these things, I'd be interested to hear your views.

 
Davey Baby said:
^ I don't actually know anything about Belgium's coach. You usually know about these things, I'd be interested to hear your views.
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I know the name because he played in Germany and was pretty good. As a manager, however, he hasn't found success at either of his two domestic jobs, where he lasted a total of 10 months combined. Otherwise, he's spent the majority of his coaching career as Dick Advocaat's assistant. Maybe he'll prove to be up to the task, but as critical as I am of Löw, I'd have to think he's still better than Wilmots. 

 
Davey Baby said:
^ Germany and Italy are obviously contenders.

Italy don't have the players IMO.

Germany don't have the coach.

Edit: Brazil v Spain final looks the most likely.
Click to expand...
Maybe not to win it, but they certainly have as much a chance as the other contenders. This is the team that made the Euro finals, the team that knocked out Germany on the way (though, fair enough, I'll attribute that loss to Low's ineptness). They have a wonderful array of midfield talent, the likes of Balotelli and El Shaarawy will only be better next year, and if they can keep Chiellini fit then their defense is reasonable as well. I'm not saying that they'll go all the way, nor that they're better than Germany or Brazil, but to not at least give them a chance is a bit absurd. Argentina and maybe the Netherlands or France look the only other real threats at the moment.

 
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I would attribute that loss entirely to Löw's ineptness. Talent wise, Italy had no business achieving that result. They showed their true quality by rolling over and dying in the final. 

 
Teritus said:
I'm not saying that they'll go all the way, nor that they're better than Germany or Brazil, but to not at least give them a chance is a bit absurd.
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I've said they'll be contenders just that I don't think they have the players to go all the way.

For some reason there are some countries you can never discount, and Italy are one of them, Germany another of course.

Historically, along with Brazil and Argentina, they are the big guns.

 
I don't think Italy had a particularly strong squad at the 2006 world cup but they can still be such a difficult squad to break down.

I'm most interested in seeing if Ronaldo or Messi can finally deliver for their countries.

 
Jonty said:
I don't think Italy had a particularly strong squad at the 2006 world cup but they can still be such a difficult squad to break down.

I'm most interested in seeing if Ronaldo or Messi can finally deliver for their countries.
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Ronaldo has been delivering lately.

 
Damnation said:
Ronaldo has been delivering lately.
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He'll be 29 and Messi will be 26, so it should be the best world cup in term's of the two of them being closest to their peaks.

It's really exciting, people always wanted to see Pele and Maradona at the height of their powers at the same time, well this will potentially be an even greater rivalry.

 
33/1 Belgium for Rio World cup. Don't think they will win it - the Euros on the other hand. Place your bets now!

 
That Boy Brandinho said:
Quite true, but do Belgium? I've seen nothing from Wilmots to make me believe he's any better than Löw. Certainly he won't have quite the same calibre of players in 2014 as Jogi will.
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Belgium has Courtois, that's enough... ask Özil  :smile:

 
Best odds of 25/1 for Belgium to win Euro 2016. This should be the peak of their team, and they will have a good chance in 2018 as their defense will all be around 28-32, the holding mids will be around 30, the attacking players will be between 25-28. That is just accounting for the players currently in the squad. Frightening really. They will also be low seeds come the next world cup due to their low ranking as a European team. 

A potential world cup group in 2014 could be:

Spain
Belgium
Ivory Coast
Uruguay

Would be a very interesting group.
 

 
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