Wales Vs Belgium [2–4] 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers: Rudi Garcia Attacking Tactics – Tactical Analysis

With four wins and two draws, Belgium has moved much closer to qualifying for the 2026 World Cup after beating Wales in Cardiff following a complicated away game that ended with a 2-4 final result for the Belgians.

Belgium are actually at the top spot of their group J with 14 points, one point ahead of the second of the group, North Macedonia, who have 13 points from seven games.

With Belgium to play against Kazakhstan in another difficult away match on October 15, 2025, they have the chance to widen the gap between them, Wales, and North Macedonia, knowing that such a win would further confirm their lead in the group and their participation in the 2026 World Cup without having to play extra play-off rounds.

In fact, the current generation of Belgium (which is a mix of some of the older players of the “golden generation” and the current emerging players and stars) proved that they can be good enough to continue not just participating in the World Cups but more importantly reaching an advanced stage in them, like they did in the 2018 World Cup edition, when they were very close to the final and got knocked out by France in the semi-finals.

This current team hopes to reach the advanced stages of the tournament once again, and why not go all the way to the final and achieve what Belgium’s “golden generation” failed to do, despite having a stellar squad for numerous years?

However, to achieve such a target, it will be crucial for Belgium to work extensively on fixing their weaknesses, especially defensively, to resist against the bigger teams they will encounter during the tournament.

Otherwise, it will be very complicated to compete for a ticket to the advanced rounds even if they succeed in putting on powerful attacking performances.

During the match against Wales, the Red Devils displayed some very positive attacking signs, suggesting that the team is establishing new trends that rely on players like Kevin De Bruyne, Charles De Ketelaere, Jérémy Doku, and Leandro Trossard.

Belgium has plenty of reliable names in attack and can even make their attacking performances much more dangerous against any opponent if they succeed in finding the best suitable roles for each player ahead of the big tournament.

At the same time, it will be crucial for Rudi Garcia to select the right players for the upcoming games and avoid leaving valuable players who can greatly benefit the team out of the squad ahead of the World Cup.

Names like Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Saelemaekers should be considered upon their return from injuries.

They can represent a huge asset to the team’s front line, and Garcia will have to be very attentive to his player choices and players’ management to avoid committing costly mistakes.

In this tactical analysis of the match between Belgium and Wales, our primary focus will be on assessing Belgium’s attacking performance and ideas and how they can build on this performance to improve their overall attacking tactics.

Wales Vs Belgium Lineups & Formations

For Wales, Craig Bellamy and his players tried very hard to disturb Belgium and win the game, but they failed to do so due to the difference in players’ quality and, more importantly, Wales’ decisive defensive mistakes, which cost them two penalties.

Wales lost the game due to a lack of defensive maturity and unnecessary individual mistakes inside the box, despite taking the lead and approaching the game correctly.

Wales will have to be much more attentive defensively and avoid committing unnecessary mistakes, especially on crucial occasions, if they still want to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.

They know that the only way to ensure their qualification will be to hold the second position and play the play-offs.

Bellamy relied on a 5-4-1 formation with Karl Darlow as a goalkeeper, Neco Williams, Joe Rodon and Ben Cabango as centre-backs, David Brooks as a right-back, and Ben Davies as a left-back.

The midfield consisted of Ethan Ampadu and Jordan James as central midfielders, Harry Wilson and Sorba Thomas as wingers, and Mark Harris as the main striker.

The in-game substitutions could have been more impactful for Wales, as players like Nathan Broadhead and Kieffer Moore made the difference and were decisive in creating the second goal.

If given more playing time, they could have helped Wales further in the attacking phase to help equalise, as they were more dynamic even when out of possession.

Wales Vs Belgium Formations

On the other hand, Garcia opted for the 4-2-3-1 formation, with Thibaut Courtois as the goalkeeper, a defence comprising Zeno Debast and Arthur Theate as centre-backs, Thomas Meunier as a right-back, and Maxim De Cuyper as a left-back.

Belgium should exploit their veteran players even further and give an experienced player like Axel Witsel a bit more playing time.

Thanks to his defensive abilities, physical strength, and experience in playing such crucial games, he could have guaranteed more defensive security and coverage in these matches.

Garcia opted for Amadou Onana and Nicolas Raskin as central midfielders instead, with De Bruyne being the advanced playmaker and Witsel replacing him in the final minutes of the game.

On the wings, Belgium used Trossard and Doku, who were the most dangerous players for the team in this match.

De Ketelaere was the main striker and played the role of a false nine, dropping to midfield and the wings as needed.

Belgium Wing-Based Attacking Performance

It is true that Belgium conceded a bit too much to Wales during the first minutes of the match and risked conceding not just one goal but even more; however, they were mature enough to capitalize on the first real opportunity they created, thanks to De Ketelaere’s movement out of position.

Belgium Charles De Ketelaere Movements Without The Ball

In fact, De Ketelaere gave a hard time to Wales’ defenders mainly because he kept moving intelligently between the lines and dropping to create spaces for the players coming from behind or from the wings.

Since this role is not new to De Ketelaere, who is used to interpreting it well at Atalanta, he was capable of creating the threat needed to win a penalty after he exchanged passes with Doku between Wales’ defenders on the right wing.

Before getting inside the box, he protected the ball and tried to serve a teammate, winning a lucky foul since the ball touched the opponent’s hand.

However, what is remarkable about this action is the excellent passing work between Doku and De Ketelaere, as well as their ability to create space for passing in tight areas.

Furthermore, the goal action was created thanks to Meunier’s anticipatory interception, which made the whole counter-attacking action a bit easier for everyone.

Belgium Second Goal Action & Right-Wing Efficiency

The use of both wings and the right wing was recurrent, especially during the first half, as Belgium could add a second goal, mainly thanks to the work of Meunier and Doku.

Garcia should exploit this duo’s actions and chemistry even further.

He needs to encourage both players to alternate their passing and movement plans, involving De Bruyne and De Ketelaere to add even more quality to such attacking combinations.

We get the feeling that Belgium still has a lot of potential that is not fully exploited attacking-wise at the moment.

With the return of Saelemaekers, Garcia can even make both wings much more dangerous by distributing both Saelemaekers and Doku on each wing and alternating their positions, since both of them have shown previously that they can do well on both wings.

The second goal action highlights Meunier’s attacking support and Belgium’s wide array of solutions for goalscoring, as Meunier came from behind and advanced quickly to receive Doku’s excellent pass and shoot with power and accuracy inside the net, exploiting the space left within Wales’ box.

Belgium Absence Of A Proper Striker

Belgium could have been even more decisive in this match.

They created more goal-scoring chances thanks to Doku’s movements and dribbling skills, as well as De Bruyne’s playmaking abilities, which made things easier for both wingers and strikers.

However, on some occasions, it appeared that Belgium lacked a proper striker who moves like a real striker inside the box, attacks spaces, and positions himself well to receive key passes.

This was not often the case with De Ketelaere since the latter is used to retreat and prefer having the ball instead of working a lot without the ball, and that is normal because he is not a classic or natural striker.

For instance, on the following occasion, Belgium needed a proper striker to position himself between the defenders inside the box, try making a movement to follow a potential Doku pass, and finish with accuracy.

However, that did not happen, and Doku was obliged to opt for the solo solution after he dribbled past his opponent internally, had to shoot using his weaker foot, and missed a goalscoring chance.

Belgium Effective Change Of Positions And Overlaps

It should be noted that Belgium’s alternation of their attacking positioning was very useful in this match and can be even more useful during the upcoming games, as it creates different attacking solutions and confuses defenses.

These in-game changes occurred a bit late against Wales but helped Belgium score their fourth goal.

This was mainly thanks to Doku’s switch to the left wing, where he can be even more dangerous, and, more importantly, to all of Timothy Castagne’s overlaps and Trossard’s excellent attacking movement, which created a numerical superiority for Belgium inside the box.

Castagne’s overlap was the main reason for this action’s success.

He provided a suitable passing option for Doku and attracted defenders to mark him while creating space for Trossard on the right wing.

Castagne and Meunier’s overlaps were crucial in this match.

They offered solutions to the team’s attack in the absence of a proper striker.

Working on such overlaps and combinations between the wingers and the full-backs, in addition to reinforcing the attacking plans with the involvement of a real striker and the more extensive reliance on De Bruyne’s passes, would make Belgium even more powerful and convincing in the attacking phase ahead of the upcoming encounters.

Conclusion

Belgium got the victory they needed from a difficult stadium against a very ambitious opponent, thanks to the team’s powerful attacking performance and reliance on the dynamism and intelligent penetrations of their wingers and full-backs.

That said, Belgium need to focus a lot more on their defensive phase and fix numerous individual mistakes per game, especially when it comes to passing and losing the ball inside their own third, in order to concede fewer goals in the future.