Considering the attacking talent at Roberto Martinez’s disposal, you’d expect Belgium to ease their way into the next round of the World Cup this summer. While perhaps not at the peak of the nation’s golden generation, they still have the quality to make a sustained impact in Russia this summer. Martinez may not be the most tactically astute coach, but his attacking credentials mean he is perhaps the ideal man to tap into the immense offensive potential running through the Red Devils’ squad.
In his ideal 3-4-3 formation, Belgium have the players capable of hurting any side, yet the prominent concern is how to best crowbar the world class stars into Martinez’s starting XI. It could well be that the Spaniard plays it safe and opts for two defensive-minded central midfielders, thus allowing the wing-backs to push on and support the attack. In this instance, the front three would likely be Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard in support of the one of the four central strikers in the side, with Thomas Meunier and Yannick Carrasco stretching opponents as wing-backs.
In such a setup, there is rife competition for the starting striker position, with Romelu Lukaku, Dries Mertens, Christian Benteke and Michy Batshuayi battling it out as Belgium’s number nine. However, with Benteke out of form and Batshuayi lacking match fitness following an ankle injury, it’s the former pair who’d be competing for a spot in the side.
The problem, though, is that both Mertens and Lukaku come into the World Cup on the back of so-so domestic campaigns. The 31-year-old scored just the 18 league goals for Napoli last season, a poor return given he smashed in 28 league goals the previous campaign. His 25-year-old compatriot, meanwhile, netted just 16 league goals in his debut season for Manchester United having hit the back of the net 25 times the previous Premier League campaign for Everton.
Now, both returns aren’t exactly the poorest and, in their own right, the duo impressed for Napoli and Manchester United, respectively. Martinez, however, would have preferred one of them to come into Russia 2018 in a rich vein of goalscoring form. Mertens, for example, has scored just once in his last 11 league appearances, while Lukaku netted just one goal in his last six United outings last season. Belgium don’t exactly have the toughest of groups - they’ll be confident of beating England, Tunisia and Panama to top spot - but with the latter two in particular set to sit deep and hit opponents on the counter attack, a forward in fine fettle could be key, especially as space may be at a premium.
Conversely, both strikers afford Martinez a differing approach in the final third. Lukaku is able to hold up play and bring teammates into the action, and will look to make runs in behind to hurt defenders, while Mertens strives to pick out pockets of space and link up play effectively. As he is not a traditional number nine, Mertens is comfortable in dropping towards the midfield to allow teammates to drift infield and capitalise on any space left behind.
Lukaku, meanwhile, is the more physically imposing of the two forwards and hands Martinez the option to implement a more direct approach as and when required. Against teams that sit back, we can be expected to see Belgium line up with Mertens and Hazard in behind Lukaku with De Bruyne occupying a central midfield berth, as has been done against Japan and Saudi Arabia of late.
The pair aren’t world beaters by any stretch, however, and Martinez would be wise to pushing De Bruyne upfield to shore up the midfield when the Red Devils face tougher opposition this summer or run the very real risk of overcommitting and being caught short at the back. In this instance, Martinez has a decision to make over who leads the line of Mertens or Lukaku, though it is a selection dilemma he undeniably enjoys.
Depending on his approach to a specific match, both Mertens and Lukaku offer alternating styles should Martinez elect for one or the other and have immense international experience to boot. However, if push came to shove, it’s likely that Martinez would plump for Lukaku given his international goalscoring record compared to Mertens having scored 30 times to the Napoli man’s 13. When all is said and done, though, Martinez has two quality primary striking options to call upon and it’s a headache he’ll welcome when the World Cup kicks off later this month.
