Belgium also have a new man in charge for the game, with Spaniard Martinez set for his introduction to global football management.
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Belgium entered Euro 2016 ranked among the best sides in the world, according to Fifa’s official rankings, but rarely impressed during the tournament, crashing out to Wales in the quarter-finals having already been outclassed by Italy. It will be a very hard game and a great spectacle for the fans.
“When you sit down in a group like this and we say we’re going to try to win a big tournament, if you’ve never done it before you can’t get guidance or get that inspiration from somewhere”. “We have great players and we need to be able to manage games how we want”.
Lopetegui said the result was ideal, but he was even more satisfied with his players’ performance, highlighting the link-up play between midfielders Koke and Sergio Busquets.
“There is nothing like a match and I can not wait to learn from that experience”, Martinez said at his press conference. I think everyone is ready to play.
“The match is very important because it’s our first match together in front of our fans”.
Belgium travels to Nicosia to take on Cyprus in World Cup qualifying Group H on September 6. The majority of those have been friendlies as well, with the last meeting happening back in 2009 when Spain trashed Red Devils 5-0 in the qualifiers for the World Cup in South Africa.
Belgium’s new coach, Spaniard Roberto Martinez, was left realizing he has plenty of work to do to mould his talent-packed squad into a team capable of living up to its potential.
Sergio Busquets once more anchors a midfield pairing of Koke and Thiago Alcantara, while David Silva is expected to continue as an inverted winger on the right, behind lone striker Alvaro Morata.
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West Ham goalkeeper Adrian and Atletico Madrid midfielder Saul Niguez could be in line for their senior global debuts after being included in Lopetegui’s first squad.
