Belgium came into EURO 2020 as the top-ranked side in the world, and with the weight of expectation on their shoulders. Their own version of a Golden Generation has been around for a while now, and it seems as though this tournament is the last chance for some of them to mark their international careers with a trophy, even with a World Cup taking place in just around 18 months. Roberto Martinez picked a squad filled with players who have a lot of tournament experience the majority of them were around for the 2018 World Cup and even the 2016 Euros, and with a relatively straightforward group draw, most observers expect the Red Devils to go far at this tournament.
Russia, on the other hand, are looking to emulate their fairytale run at the 2018 World Cup which took them to the quarter-finals on home soil. With two of their three group-stage games at home, there is every chance that they could make it to the knockout rounds, and in Stanislav Chercheshov, they have an astute tactician who is not afraid to change things up based on the opposition. Russia are expected to be a largely solid and unspectacular side, and would certainly have viewed their opening match against Belgium as a freebie, given the strength of their opponents.
This is a tactical analysis of the EURO 2020 Group B game between these two sides, which ended with an emphatic 3-0 win to the Belgians.
Lineups
Martinez sent the Belgians out in their expected 3-4-3 shape, with a couple of notable absentees in Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne, both of whom are recovering from injuries and were not fit to start, although Hazard was on the bench. Dedryck Boyata lined up in central defence alongside Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen, and while Timothy Castagne got the nod at right wing-back, his night, and indeed his tournament, was ended early after a clash of heads that left him with a broken eye socket. Borussia Dortmunds Thomas Meunier came on to replace him, with the younger of the Hazard siblings, Thorgan Hazard, on the opposite flank. The Premier League pair of Leander Dendoncker and Youri Tielemans were in midfield, with Yannick Carrasco and Dries Mertens playing behind the excellent Romelu Lukaku, who helped himself to two goals on the night.
In Russias case, they lined up in a 4-4-1-1 formation, with the veteran Yuri Zhirkov at left-back and Mario Fernandes at right-back. AS Monaco playmaker Aleksandr Golovin got a start behind Artem Dzyuba, who has been scoring freely for Zenit Saint-Petersburg and will hope to bring that form to the tournament.
