World Cup: Belgium Under Pressure

May 29, 2013; Cleveland, OH, USA; United States midfielder Stuart Holden (11) and Belgium midfielder Marouane Fellaini (6) at FirstEnergy Stadium. Belgium won 4-2. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

While watching ESPN’s end of the World Cup day round-table show, Everton Manager Roberto Martinez had a fantastic answer to a question about the pressure the Belgium National Team feels in the knockout phase of the tournament.

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He said, “Belgium as a team, they don’t feel any pressure at all. It’s the players, the players will feel all the pressure.”

He’s right.

Belgium hasn’t been to a major competition since the World Cup in the United States in 1994 (yes, that is funny). Yet, in the build-up to the 2014 World Cup they breezed through their group finishing first by a considerable margin and it is pretty easy to see why.

Brooks Peck, of the fun Dirty Tackle blog, posted a fun article where he re-branded each National Team with a new slogan for their team bus in Brazil. For Belgium, he wrote, “ “Yep, he plays for us too.”

Any follower of European soccer is very familiar with the names: Courtois, Kompany, Vermaelen, Mignolet (a back-up!), Fellaini, Januzaj, Lukaku, Hazard. Again, this isn’t the EPL or La Liga all-star team, this is the honest to goodness line-up from a country with a population that is 1/3 of California.

But, again, Roberto Martinez was right… Belgium as a collective whole does not have a ton of pressure, just the players. Since the team as a whole has yet to achieve success, the blame for any perceived short comings will fall on the individuals. And, for some it will come with much more weight than others.

So, it is in that light, I present to you the Belgium World Cup Players Pressure Power Rankings:

11) Thibaut Courtois: Only 22 Thibaut Courtois has already achieved tremendous success in Europe while on loan from Chelsea. With a Europa League, La Liga, and a Copa Del Rey victory he has proven himself to be a world class keeper. Yet, his youth, HE’S 22, he will be given the benefit of the doubt for a short while.

10-8) Every defender not named Kompany. While van Buyten, Vertonghen, and Alderweireld have been strong, most of their mistakes (if they do make them) will fall on the Captain (more on him later). That said, these backs (plus Thomas Vermaelen) have been pretty successful for their clubs and should be solid.

7) Kevin De Bruyne: As a Chelsea supporter, we all know what Kevin De Bruyne could be, but we’re not quite sure exactly what he is at this moment. At only 22, Kevin De Bruyne has a lot of football development in front of him but enough of a track record to carry some expectations.

6-4) The Dembélé, Witsel, Mertens midfield trio: Much like the defensive players mention earlier, these three have had some success at the top levels of European football. Each one is exceptionally talented at some facet of the midfield and have the ability to make a big play on the biggest stage. But, any shortcomings they show will be overlooked in favor of the talent in front of them.

3) Romelu Lukaku: In a World Cup where Neymar (just 13 months older) has been asked to carry the hopes and dreams of THE soccer mecca, Lukaku has been granted a bit of a reprieve. That said, after Christian Benteke went down, all eyes and expectations turned to Lukaku. With his Club future in the air, he can make a massive statement in Brazil as to where he belongs.

2) Vincent Kompany: The Captain. Not does he lead this Belgium squad, but also of a Manchester City team that has won two Premier Leagues and an FA Cup with him wearing the armband. With a team of “darlings,” it will be Kompany who everyone will expect to steer the mighty ship through the icebergs. When you wear the armband, you bring upon yourself an accountability where you must perform.

1) Eden Hazard: When Hazard signed with Chelsea in 2012, he did so with a certain amount of confidence that brought a spotlight to him. Since then, he has more than exceeded nearly every reasonable (and some not) expectation placed upon him. He wears the #10 for both Club and Country which automatically brings a certain responsibility to achieve. But, he’s under the most pressure because this could be the breakthrough for Hazard. He has the ability to make the leap from “young star” to “super star,” and those kinds of expectations bring massive weight. We’ll see on Tuesday, with Jermaine Jones on him, how ready he is.