STARTING XI
REMAINING SQUAD MEMBERS
3 best players not in squad:
Belgium's best results as a nation were coming third place in the World Cup 2018, and runners-up in the 1980 European Championships, with 6 players each coming from these two squads. Such was the strength in his position that Christian Piot wasn't really considered, but he was a great goalkeeper. Toby Alderweireld or Laurent Verbiest could cover as a back-up right back, so George Heylens wasn't needed. Alderweireld often played as a right-back for his country, while I read about Verbiest having a strong performance there against Pele's Santos, so he could potentially be an option too. Alderweireld was necessary as the guaranteed option there, but Walter Meeuws narrowly missed out to Verbiest. Jan Vertonghen could have covered at centre and left-back, maybe slightly more efficiently than Alderweireld on the other side, but Swartenbroeks was one of the best pre-World Cup left-backs, so was a stronger option than Heylens. Vandereycken covers Van Der Elst as a versatile holding midfield option, just ahead of Victor Mees and Ludo Coeck. De Bruyne starts next to Ceulemans with Van Moer and Schifo as their back-ups. I believe De Bruyne and Hazard have overtaken Paul Van Himst as Belgium's greatest ever players. Lemberects, Mertens and Braine can be cover for the front 3, with Mertens just picked ahead of Franky Vercauteren. Coppens was the final player selected as a third striker option. Players by Decade: 1980's (6), 2010's (4), 1960's (3), 2020's (2), 1990's (2), 1950's (2), 1970's (1), 1940's (1), 1930's (1), 1920's (1) World-Class Belgian Players (14)
Honourable Mentions (Close to Gold):
Mermans / B.Voorhoof
Top 10 Belgian Players of All-Time (& their all-time positional rank)
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