Martinez tweaks his tactics again as Belgium look to beat France
By Liam Bekker
Roberto Martinez has continued to surprise with his tactics by packing his midfield at the expense of playing any orthodox full-backs.
Despite leading Belgium through qualifying with losing a single match, Roberto Martinez arrived at the World Cup as a manager of whom not much was expected. The former Everton boss has since defied his critics and announced himself as the standout tactician at the tournament.
His decision to exclude Roma midfielder Radja Nainggolan from his squad was met with surprise ahead of the tournament but looks to have paid off as Belgium reached the semi-finals as the highest scoring team. He has made some inspired decisions along the way too, including the inspired substations of Marouane Fellaini and Nacer Chadli in the come-from-behind win over Japan and the use of Romelu Lukaku on the right wing in their brilliant quarter final win over Brazil.
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Martinez’s tactical nous was called into action again ahead of the semi-final against France after Thomas Meunier, Belgium’s only recognized full-back, was suspended after accumulating too many yellow cards in the previous rounds. His response was to name Totteham midfielder Moussa Dembele in the starting line-up, with the official Twitter page placing him on the right side of a four-man midfield with Nacer Chadli operating from the left.
https://twitter.com/BelRedDevils/status/1016724587978076165
Upon kick-off though, it became evident that Nacer Chadli had assumed an unorthodox right wing /right wing-back position with Dembele operating as a midfield pivot alongside Axel Witsel.
The formation, which could perhaps best be described as a lopsided 3-2-4-1 in attack, means Belgium operated in the first-half with no left wing-back but instead pushed forward with Chadli and Eden Hazard down the wings and Fellaini and Kevin De Bruyne through the middle behind Lukaku.
The Tottenham star’s inclusion in a packed midfield allowed Belgium to control the lion’s share of possession and invited Fellaini to push forward and provide an extra attacking outlet with his height and power. When not in possession, both Fellaini and Chadli dropped into deeper positions which ensured Belgium maintained a numerical advantage over France in midfield and cut off the supply lines to the likes of Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappe who had assumed wider attacking positions.
Martinez’s decision to pack his midfield at the expense of orthodox full-backs is one which appears to be paying dividend but it remains to be seen if Belgium can maintain their tactical discipline in the second half.