It is now or never for the Belgium team. The have the groupings working in their favor and they must capitalize on it. The youth of their squad combined with the amount of championship experience should reap its rewards if the team plays to their expectations. Eden Hazard denies the squad is feeling pressure entering the tournament. He notes that is well aware of how to handle situations like this and are used to performing at a very high level. The nation has not won a knockout game since beating Medico in 1986 and is desperate to make this their year.
Algeria is looking to prove they are no slouch in this rather non-marquee group. The team has plenty of experience on the roster, with many of Europe's top league players including Faouzi Ghoulam, Saphir Taider and Nabil Bentaleb who are all expected to start. Algeria is the only country in this world Cup who has all 23 players from different club teams. They exceled in qualifying which could work well in their favor in the weak grouping. Expectations for Algeria are relatively low, especially facing Belgium, but the amount of championship experience could give them an edge.
Belgium enters the World Cup ranked sixth in the FIFA rankings. They also have the third most expensive roster of the tournament with the captain of Arsenal and one of the best young players in the world occupying spots. Not to mention players that were on the champion squads of both the Premier League and La Liga are also on the Belgium team, it is no wonder they did not lose a single game in World Cup qualifying. The expected favorites of the group, Belgium is looking to run deep into this tournament.
Both Belgium and Algeria are aware they are underdogs in this World Cup tournament despite their favorable FIFA rankings. They drew Group H which is one of the more even playing field groupings in the World Cup. Both teams have been waiting to make their tournament debut after getting ranked ahead of other Euro heavyweights like Holland and France. With big names making up both rosters, are Belgium and Algeria really the darkhorses everyone predicted them to be?