Belgium wins in Azerbaijan in Euro 2024 qualifying

On a pitch worthy of a potato field, the Red Devils escaped the Azerbaijani net (1-0) this Saturday afternoon at the small Dalga Arena in the north-eastern suburbs of Baku. But they gave themselves a scare and scored only one stopgap goal, PSV Eindhoven winger Johan Bakayoko’s crushed strike, which Yannick Carrasco (38th) almost coincidentally deflected with a left-footed outside-foot shot to deceive the opposition goalkeeper. was enough.

“They may be leading 1-0, Belgium coach Domenico Tedesco entered the RTBF microphone after the final whistle. We had problems getting into the match. Especially at the technical level. We missed easy balls. In the final opposing third, we were not good. ,

Lukaku as a support point

The Italian coach continues to transform the Belgian national team by gradually reinvigorating the younger generation. He is deprived of many historical officials (Courtois and De Bruyne were injured for a long time, Eden Hazard retired). So Belgium still has a lot of work to do at a collective level as many players do not play for any club. He once again relied on Romelu Lukaku at the forefront of his 4-2-3-1, with a starting XI where the difference in pace between the players did not favor cohesion and where former Lille player Amadou Onana, the holder, wins. .

The AS Roma center forward played only 19 minutes this season against AC Milan (1-2, September 1). But he made Belgium’s game attractive by acting as a pivot or anchor point for his team before passing the chance to Michy Batshuayi (66th). Lois Openda (Leipzig) entered only at the end of the match (84th).

To summarize the Belgian match, we must highlight the lack of pace and accuracy of the forwards, the saves made by Wolfsburg goalkeeper Koen Castells, but, above all, the foul play of Arthur Thiet from the left at the beginning of the match. Important saves from the side in front of their goal (7th) that prevented Ermin Mammadov from scoring.

” so much the betterThe Rennes defender smiled at the microphone of Belgian public television. It’s not like that “Roma” (Lukaku) To come and tackle, that’s my role. We didn’t have many shots on goal, but throughout the match, we benefited from the biggest moments of the game.” “When you can’t hit a match on the scoreboard, The opponent who pushes has nothing to lose and keeps you trembling till the end”, Yannick Carrasco explained.