Croatia v Belgium, Canada v Morocco - Thu 1st Dec, 15:00 | Group F | World Cup 2022

Who will qualify?

  • Total voters
    21
  • Poll closed .
Blueknows said:
Martinez is a clown for even including him in the squad played 30 minutes in the last 6 months been injured for the last 2 months , surely martinez will be sacked after destroying such a talented group of players
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Yes he is a clown and yes, most probably he will be sacked. But what good will that do? I mean now? I'm sorry, it's too late. It's over. The damage is done and it's irreparable...

Adding some historical perspective: In the 80s they were my favorite European national team. I loved their style. That's subjective, of course. Their biggest weakness was associated with mentality issues. They were inconsistent, sometimes lacked character and self belief in critical moments etc. I remember a match vs Yugoslavia, I think in the 1984 EURO, one of the very best team performances I have ever witnessed. They won that match but didn't even make the second round. Nevertheless Guy Thys was a very good, experienced manager, and he did produce results over the years with decent, respectable positions in World Cups. People like Pfaff, Grun, Vercauteren, Scifo, Ceulemans and others, were exceptional players, but Belgium of that era will mostly be remembered for what they were capable of producing as a team. A group of players with magnificent team chemistry -and their football was beautiful. Which obviously reflects the vision of a talented manager...

It took them decades to develop a talented generation like the current one. And when they did, they hired useless managers like Wilmots (who I did respect as a player) and Martinez. A crime, no other way to describe it...

What I'm trying to say is that eventually people will have to understand that most of the times the activity that takes place on the pitch is determined by decisions made off it. Why should I blame Martinez? I knew exactly what to expect from him the moment he got the job. Provided that people running the FA were professionals, that clown would have never been appointed as manager of their national team. I mean, it's not like he found the door open and walked in. Some people decided he was suitable for the task, right?

I watched Martinez's post match interview following the Morocco match. He blamed his players' mindset. Of course he would. He was asked about Kevin's statement prior to the match, he said he wasn't aware of it. If you ask me, Kevin shouldn't have talked at all, the timing wasn't right. Of course he understands, of course he knows what's going on. Following his retirement he can open his mouth and say what probably all his teammates feel regarding their experience with that guy. I'm not sure he will though, Kevin is a decent man. The thing is, if players operate under the "fear of losing", as Martinez put it, it's because players do not trust the team they participate in. They are not inspired by it. They do not believe in their ability and strength as a unit. A unit shaped and managed by Mr. Martinez himself...

The simple, tragical truth? Everything Kevin and his teammates did for their national team, all their time there, all their sweat, their injuries, was for nothing. Nothing. Wasted time (6 fucking years, by the way). And wasted effort. Their fate was decided the moment that clown was assigned the job. I'm sorry but modern football is a highly demanding environment -and there is no room for incompetence. A good manager can make a decent team out of a group of mediocre players. A clown can take exceptional players and destroy them as a unit. Fact. We've witnessed it numerous times...

Belgium were bound to be an underachieving team under Martinez and were naturally eliminated. They had zero chance under Wilmots and zero chance under Martinez as well. The latter will leave but the parasites responsible for his appointment will avoid accountability as usual -and keep their positions. Nobody will point the finger at them. And they will keep making serious, strategical decisions regarding the development of the sport in their country, the teams that represent it, etc etc etc. And life will go on. As I said, it's tragic, I know. But it has happened before and will happen again...
 
Martinez and Thierry Henry: the CBS pundits who know everything about football.
 
Whilst good news for us I feel for KDB too be honest.
He didn't look arsed and worryingly looked very tired as did a lot of the Belgium team. FIFA are too blame here.
This is a consequence of staging a world cup being during a domestic seasons.
I fear for our season a little and think this world cup could impact a lot on the rest of the season.
 
Cricket Blue said:
Whilst good news for us I feel for KDB too be honest.
He didn't look arsed and worryingly looked very tired as did a lot of the Belgium team. FIFA are too blame here.
This is a consequence of staging a world cup being during a domestic seasons.
I fear for our season a little and think this world cup could impact a lot on the rest of the season.
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I love this world cup. Seeing Senegal and Morocco advancing is sooo refreshing. Go Ghana!
 
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