Just Four Things: Belgium Vs. Panama

Credits: Simon Mignolet's Twitter (@SMignolet)

Patience Game Yield Dividends

Before the match, manager Roberto Martinez said that Belgium will have to be patient and that “it’s a game we can’t expect we will win quickly” according to ESPN correspondent, Jeff Carlisle on his Twitter account. It turns out Martinez was right. Belgium rather than be quick on the attack with the amount of talent they have, they took their time attacking the final third. The signs are there with creative passes and the resilience of the attackers lead by Eden Hazard & Kevin De Bruyne to penetrate the Panama box.

But they were unable to find that breakthrough but they still remain patient. Fortunately they didn’t wait long after the restart to take the lead thanks to Dries Mertens (More on that later). Panama didn’t look like they will threaten the Belgian defence much and hence perhaps why Martinez took that path. Belgium never looked frustrated when things weren’t going their way as they showed their quality.

Panama’s Formation Exuding Hardwork

Although eventually falling to defeat, Panama also deserve a little bit credit with the way they set up. They set-up in a 4-1-4-1 formation with Gabriel Gomez acting as the sole holding midfielder, dropping back as part of a back-three whenever the fullbacks have the chance to go through.

But with how Belgium is knocking on the door often, Gomez and the four midfielders had to drop back to help the defence. They did decently well though to hold their own and compose themselves whenever Belgium goes forward. They made sure to guard their box closely and made sure any Belgian player coming in will have a hard time getting the ball. Panama worked hard to prevent any lasting damage and could’ve scored had Michael Murillo not spurned a glorious chance with the score only at 1-0, much to Jan Vertonghen’s anger on how easily Murillo was let in. In the end however, the quality gap between the teams was evident. Panama were outdone by Belgium’s excellence.

Huge Relief For Lukaku

Because of Panama being defensively composed when an attack is coming, Lukaku was left frustrated and it didn’t help that the creativity was slightly off during the first half. OptaJoe provided two key stats that perfectly summed up his first half. First, he was the only person that De Bruyne failed to provide a successful pass. And secondly, he only had seven touches in the whole first half, the fewest of any player.

So you can imagine his relief when he finally got what he wanted. He headed the ball in close range after De Bruyne crossed the ball in with the outside of his foot. He then reminded us of his sheer ability following collecting Hazard’s through-pass during a counter-attack, in which he then finished beautifully when he dinked the ball over Panama goalkeeper Jaime Penedo with his left ball and into the net. There would’ve been questions about the Man. United striker had he not scored any in this match, so the Belgian striker will be happy with his contributions.

Goal of The Tournament Contender Too Tight

What a way for Belgium to break the deadlock. After Roman Torres seemingly headed the danger away, the ball fell to Dries Mertens from the right side of the box, smacked the ball first time in the air and it dipped perfectly into the lower far corner. It was nothing short of what Belgium deserved but now it gives another headache about who scored the best goal of the tournament.

There were those tremendous free-kicks scored by Russia’s Aleksandr Golovin, Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Serbia captain Aleksandar Kolarov. Then there was that thunderous low shot by Spain’s Nacho and a rocket beauty by Brazil’s Philippe Coutinho. Merten’s instep drive can be added to the nominees, and we’re still in the first round of matches. Here’s to more.