If Lukaku were to replace Aguero I reckon Pep would either kill him or quit football altogether within a month.
Day 7: Ukraine vs North Macedonia | Denmark vs Belgium | Netherlands vs Austria
- Thread starter Samid
- Start date
Getting horrid flashbacks of Lukaku’s second season here.
Belgium are having a trash game. They can't even build a proper attack.
HT
If Denmark had a good finisher they'd be a few up by now
If Denmark had a good finisher they'd be a few up by now
Lulcacku
That was an incredible half from Denmark tbf. Hope they hold on. Suddenly would have all 4 teams on 3 points with 1 game left.
This is God awful. Worst performance of the last five years and Martinez is too much of a coward to make a sub before HT.
Hazard, KdB, Witsel and Trossard on for Carrasco, Mertens, Dendoncker and Hazard please.
Hazard, KdB, Witsel and Trossard on for Carrasco, Mertens, Dendoncker and Hazard please.
Lukaku has been fine. There was nobody in the box to cross to, anyway.
The midfield has been really bad. Their passing has been terrible.
The midfield has been really bad. Their passing has been terrible.
Denmark wants it more. They pressed Belgium like crazy basically the whole half.
how? They are both completely uninspiring atleast Martínez has a nice accent Southgate is as boring as a human can sound.
Denmark CBs are actually better than Belgium CBs 
AC Milan regular CB vs Spurs non-regular CB
EPL CB vs Ligue 1 CB
Chelsea CB who won UCL vs Benfica CB
AC Milan regular CB vs Spurs non-regular CB
EPL CB vs Ligue 1 CB
Chelsea CB who won UCL vs Benfica CB
Yep he’s done all he could. No support whatsoever; just sub all guys around him right now.
Only caught the last ten mins of the half, lukaku looks so dangerous and could be when he runs but then he just turns awful as soon as he gets the ball.
Carrasco has also looked dreadful, vertonghen looks a liability and too slow.
Denmark look really pumped for it and that youngster doing all the dribbling looks dangerous, hope they hold out/get a few more.
Carrasco has also looked dreadful, vertonghen looks a liability and too slow.
Denmark look really pumped for it and that youngster doing all the dribbling looks dangerous, hope they hold out/get a few more.
Knew we wouldn't get anywhere with that midfield and defence
Please make it happen!
Still think they can turn it around. 2-1 to Belgium with De Bruyne assists
Southgates better for international football where being pragmatic and solid defensively goes a long way. Very hard to implement and solid play while remaining solid like Italy have (and very few international managers are capable of it), but Southgate at least goes with the pragmatic and solid, let random star attackers do their thing but provides a big plus with set piece routines. It's an uninspiring combination, but one that goes a lot further in international tournaments.
Who is on the list for Lukaku to blame?
Great atmosphere in the Parken stadium. A must win for Denmark and that roar of the crowd might carry Denmark over the line.
You should have seen the first 15 mins. I've never seen Denmark play with such intensity.
Only against weak opposition. You are counting far too much on luck when you come up against the better sides like France etc. Teams with good attackers will punish you for sitting in your own for that length of time.
Immensely proud of this team. What a performance so far!
That Belgian defence is rubbish, on paper and in person. Belgium don't look much good but that could completely change with a fully fit De Bruyne and Hazard.
Yeah they could have been 3 up in the first five minutes. Hope they don't fatigue mentally and physically this second half though. Must be a huge adrenaline dump at halftime.
It seems strange seeing so many people in the stands, I think them all wearing the exact same adds to it. It’s like I’m watching a repeat from years ago.
Absolutely fantastic, as a neutral I'm in awe.
I was already disappointed I’d missed it!
Wouldn't say fine. For a strong lad he's been muscled off the ball a lot in that half and his distribution has been poor.
Kind of feels like now or never for this current Belgian team. Lots of the key players hitting or already past their peak and not much young blood ready to step in to replace/support them. Their attacking options can still drive them forward, but their creaking defense and weak midfield is looking ominous
Don't agree with some saying Lukaku has done all he can do. Compare it to Cavani, a classic and a better overall striker.
Lukaku is backing into the centerbacks and wants to get the ball with his back to goal, which he's not the best at. If he controls the ball, he has no options because he failed to realized ahead of time that his teammates are stretched. He's not pressing nor closing down from behind, like Cavani does. Once he started to drift wide and away from goal, there was better movement and ball retention for Belgium.
Lukaku has to support his teammates by dropping back to the half way line closer to the ball and connect closer to his teammates. Allow the team to build passes then go into space and around the box. Cavani does this so well. Drop back, find pockets of space, and gradually make his way to the box but also make sure he's able to support his teammates. He moves with the ball relative to the goal. The goal isn't going anywhere, so why go towards it when there's nothing on?
Lukaku is backing into the centerbacks and wants to get the ball with his back to goal, which he's not the best at. If he controls the ball, he has no options because he failed to realized ahead of time that his teammates are stretched. He's not pressing nor closing down from behind, like Cavani does. Once he started to drift wide and away from goal, there was better movement and ball retention for Belgium.
Lukaku has to support his teammates by dropping back to the half way line closer to the ball and connect closer to his teammates. Allow the team to build passes then go into space and around the box. Cavani does this so well. Drop back, find pockets of space, and gradually make his way to the box but also make sure he's able to support his teammates. He moves with the ball relative to the goal. The goal isn't going anywhere, so why go towards it when there's nothing on?
Home advantage playing its part here but Denmark are really impressive.
Belgium need De Bruyne and Hazard back
Belgium need De Bruyne and Hazard back
Not surprised we can play like today but to do it after everything that has happened these last few days is an astonishing achievement. Immensely proud as a Dane.
Reminds a bit of the Denmark in 98' that completely hunted the early goals. Like that Martin Jørgensen goal against Brazil.
We clearly play with our hearts today - touching moments in the build up too.
Kevin's on
Belgium comebacks on the cards.
France won a world cup like that and still play like that. Portugal won the euros like that. Greece won the euros in 2004 like that. Italy focused on keeping things tight and organized and solid defensively in 2006.
Many successful international sides are built on a pragmatic structure, as it's a lot harder to implement a good possession and attacking structure while remaining balanced with that little amount of preparation time. Better players will generally be better, but add a pragmatic structure and they're more likely to be successful in tournaments.
They seemed to pace themselves better as the half wore on. Belgium will likely pile on the pressure so maybe naturally Denmark will be pushed back. Could hopefully nick one on the counter.