You knew this was going to happen 
Belgium hasn't qualified for a tournament since 2002 and only rightly so for most of that period. Losing finalist in the Euro '80, semi finalist in Mexico '86 and a very entertaining side in Italy '90, Belgians had gotten a little spoiled and were no longer happy with the team just qualifying for world cups. But then followed a decade of darkness with (below) average players which resulted in players no longer enjoying playing for the NT, fans losing interest, sponsors not renewing contracts...
Then all of a sudden Vincent Kompany made his debut for Anderlecht and he looked so talented that he was considered unbelgian. Then in '07 the Belgian U21s made it to the semi final of a Euro, a side which one year later repeated this achievement at the Olympic games. By now there were also rumours about a kid called Eden Hazard who apparently was quite good.
Anyway, the youngsters became full internationals and the NT started to improve slowly. The fans came back, the players were proud to be playing for Belgium again and dealing with the heritage of a decade of complete incompetence, the players and fans ended up celebrating a 2-1 home win over Serbia, which in no way guaranteed them qualification for Brazil, as if they had just won the whole thing. It reflected perfectly how good everyone felt about the NT.
Belgium have been called "the" dark horse much too often in the Anglican press. I guess partly because people like a young and exciting generation, but also because international journalists knew these players well since many of them play in the EPL, some got a bit too enthusiastic, which wasn't helped when Belgium found themselves ranked 8th on the FIFA ladder and became seeded for the WC.
In reality Belgium is just one of a number of teams who if they hit form and have luck on their side may find themselves in the semi finals, but who are also capable to disappoint and get knocked in the group stage.
Unlike last season, this season the team has had to cope with players no longer being regulars at their clubs - Vermaelen, Alderweireld, Fellaini, De Bruyne, Chadli, Defour... Not all of them starters but De Bruyne's influence has been heavily missed this season.
Also since qualifying in Croatia, it seems the urgency/concentration has gone out of the team a bit and draws against Wales and Ivory Coast + losses against Colombia and Japan followed. Or maybe this is a blessing in disguise, putting everyone back with their feet on the ground, letting go of Belgium's "team to beat" status and underline the realisation that this team needs full focus to get results.
My XI
Courtois
Vanden Borre Kompany Vermaelen Vertonghen
De Bruyne Witsel Fellaini
Hazard Benteke Mertens
I don't think they've ever played like this to be honest.
Courtois, Kompany, Witsel, De Bruyne and Hazard are certainties.
Vanden Borre has only just gotten back to a reasonable level. Reality has always proven me wrong but he has all the talent to be a quality RB. Vertonghen goes into LB simply because our best pure LB isn't good enough, which means I've gone for Vermaelen ahead of van Buyten and Lombaerts. I hope Vermaelen will want to take revenge for his season on the bench at Arsenal, while I'd like to keep van Buyten as a backup. He's not fit enough anymore to play every game but he can be an excellent threat going forward who can come off the bench when we need him.
De Bruyne is Belgium's best performer and Witsel is the central figure of the whole team, so unless KDB picks up his usual spot up front (he was tried in midfield this week) there's only 1 spot left which I've given to Fellaini because of his physical presence and goalscoring ability. Others are Dembele, Defour, Chadli... no one stands out and variation is possible, and I guess the in-form player will get in the team.
Up front I still prefer Benteke ahead of Lukaku. He's just considerably better at combining with the other players. Hazard has to be in of course and part of the reason I've moved KDB to midfield is because Mertens has found his form again in Napoli.
Of course matches come fast in a tournament after an already long season so I wonder if we'll even play with the same XI twice. I guess it's good to have the likes of Alderweireld and Mirallas who are good enough to start as well.
My prediction is 2nd round, playing one of Germany, Portugal or Ghana. Germany is a class above us and the other 2 would be close I guess. If we win our group and get into the QF, we'll meet Argentina who undoubtedly will have the ref on their side again. We've been there before.
Belgium hasn't qualified for a tournament since 2002 and only rightly so for most of that period. Losing finalist in the Euro '80, semi finalist in Mexico '86 and a very entertaining side in Italy '90, Belgians had gotten a little spoiled and were no longer happy with the team just qualifying for world cups. But then followed a decade of darkness with (below) average players which resulted in players no longer enjoying playing for the NT, fans losing interest, sponsors not renewing contracts...
Then all of a sudden Vincent Kompany made his debut for Anderlecht and he looked so talented that he was considered unbelgian. Then in '07 the Belgian U21s made it to the semi final of a Euro, a side which one year later repeated this achievement at the Olympic games. By now there were also rumours about a kid called Eden Hazard who apparently was quite good.
Anyway, the youngsters became full internationals and the NT started to improve slowly. The fans came back, the players were proud to be playing for Belgium again and dealing with the heritage of a decade of complete incompetence, the players and fans ended up celebrating a 2-1 home win over Serbia, which in no way guaranteed them qualification for Brazil, as if they had just won the whole thing. It reflected perfectly how good everyone felt about the NT.
Belgium have been called "the" dark horse much too often in the Anglican press. I guess partly because people like a young and exciting generation, but also because international journalists knew these players well since many of them play in the EPL, some got a bit too enthusiastic, which wasn't helped when Belgium found themselves ranked 8th on the FIFA ladder and became seeded for the WC.
In reality Belgium is just one of a number of teams who if they hit form and have luck on their side may find themselves in the semi finals, but who are also capable to disappoint and get knocked in the group stage.
Unlike last season, this season the team has had to cope with players no longer being regulars at their clubs - Vermaelen, Alderweireld, Fellaini, De Bruyne, Chadli, Defour... Not all of them starters but De Bruyne's influence has been heavily missed this season.
Also since qualifying in Croatia, it seems the urgency/concentration has gone out of the team a bit and draws against Wales and Ivory Coast + losses against Colombia and Japan followed. Or maybe this is a blessing in disguise, putting everyone back with their feet on the ground, letting go of Belgium's "team to beat" status and underline the realisation that this team needs full focus to get results.
My XI
Courtois
Vanden Borre Kompany Vermaelen Vertonghen
De Bruyne Witsel Fellaini
Hazard Benteke Mertens
I don't think they've ever played like this to be honest.
Courtois, Kompany, Witsel, De Bruyne and Hazard are certainties.
Vanden Borre has only just gotten back to a reasonable level. Reality has always proven me wrong but he has all the talent to be a quality RB. Vertonghen goes into LB simply because our best pure LB isn't good enough, which means I've gone for Vermaelen ahead of van Buyten and Lombaerts. I hope Vermaelen will want to take revenge for his season on the bench at Arsenal, while I'd like to keep van Buyten as a backup. He's not fit enough anymore to play every game but he can be an excellent threat going forward who can come off the bench when we need him.
De Bruyne is Belgium's best performer and Witsel is the central figure of the whole team, so unless KDB picks up his usual spot up front (he was tried in midfield this week) there's only 1 spot left which I've given to Fellaini because of his physical presence and goalscoring ability. Others are Dembele, Defour, Chadli... no one stands out and variation is possible, and I guess the in-form player will get in the team.
Up front I still prefer Benteke ahead of Lukaku. He's just considerably better at combining with the other players. Hazard has to be in of course and part of the reason I've moved KDB to midfield is because Mertens has found his form again in Napoli.
Of course matches come fast in a tournament after an already long season so I wonder if we'll even play with the same XI twice. I guess it's good to have the likes of Alderweireld and Mirallas who are good enough to start as well.
My prediction is 2nd round, playing one of Germany, Portugal or Ghana. Germany is a class above us and the other 2 would be close I guess. If we win our group and get into the QF, we'll meet Argentina who undoubtedly will have the ref on their side again. We've been there before.
