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10 min: A stoppage as Belgium and Lille right back Meunier crumples to the floor with an issue. In the meantime, we’ll have an email from Matt Dony:
“Right, I’ve been listening to Together Stronger by the Manics, and I will definitely be singing ‘Hal Robson-Kanuuuuuu’ at various times through the evening,” he writes. “Bellamy has done so much right, I’m almost not absolutely terrified! It wouldn’t be the biggest shock in the world if Wales get some kind of result. A repeat of that magical night in 2016 seems impossible, but a decent draw is well within the realms of imagination. Cards on the table, I wasn’t enthused by Bellamy’s appointment. I was wrong. He’s been brilliant. The Welsh FA is just tremendously well run at the moment, and consistently seems to make good decisions (WRU take note, please!)."
8 min: Rodon scored against Liechtenstein with a header and the Wales defender rises highest again here, connecting with a Wales corner. But the ball is deflected and Belgium clear through Tielemens, who is captaining the home side tonight.
6 min: Wales already look under the cosh. Uefa had listed Doku playing at left wing before the match, but as I suspected, he has lined up on the right, presumably because he wants to attack the sluggish Ben Davies.
4 min: Belgium kick into gear, and Johnson shows the defensive side of his game, tracking Debast and blocking a dangerous cross from the byline. From the corner, Onana nods a powerful header towards goal at the back post, blocked by Rodon. Ominous signs for Wales.
2 min: Thomas wriggles free on the left and sends an early low cross into the Belgium box, beautifully dissecting goalkeeper and defence. But Johnson is slightly off the pace and can’t connect! Maybe a proper centre forward would have been better placed.
Peeeeeeeeeeep!
And we’re off in Brussels.
“The Red Devils host the Dragons. Is this the most fiery international fixture in Europe?” emails Peter Oh.
The teams are out! Belgium will play tonight in a racy yellow number, while Wales are in their traditional red.
Wales’ anthem, Land of My Fathers, is belted out with hair-raising vigour. It feels like the match is being played in Cardiff, reportedly the biggest Wales away following for a qualifier since the October 2004 game against England at Old Trafford. Wow. The promise of watching Craig Bellamy’s exciting side and simultaneously drinking Belgian lager in the stands was an offer that thousands have obviously deemed too good to turn down. And who can blame them.
You might notice that Nottingham Forest keeper Matz Sels is in goal for Belgium tonight, with Thibaut Courtois nowhere to be seen. But that is because of injury – the Real Madrid stopper has a back problem – not because of his recent exile from the national side. Courtois announced in March he was returning to Belgium duty, but he’s sidelined tonight.
And here is the Wales manager as Bellamy speaks to the BBC:
We’ve been preparing for these games since September. Our identity will be the same. It’s a team that gives us the best possible opportunity to win tonight. Every game we look to win.
When the draw was made, Bellamy spoke with the same bullishness, about wanting to top the group. That sort of belief is invaluable for a nation that has traditionally struggled to qualify for the World Cup.
Craig Bellamy learned his trade under Vincent Kompany at Anderlecht in Brussels. The Wales manager spoke to Ben Fisher on Sunday.
This game is one of six (European) World Cup qualifiers going on this evening. The other five are as follows:
Estonia vs Norway
Italy v Moldova
Faroe Islands v Gibraltar
Croatia v Czechia
Kazakhstan 0-1 North Macedonia
You will note that North Macedonia earlier beat Kazakhstan through a Aleksandar Trajkovski strike and now top the standings in Group J, Belgium and Wales’ group. This is how things stand, before kick-off here.
Joe Morrell, currently without a club, aged 28 and who played for Wales at the last World Cup, isn’t featuring tonight. But this was still an excellent interview last week with the Welsh midfielder.
One potential mis-match for Wales is at left back. Ben Davies is about as dependable as they come but should the lightning quick Jérémy Doku drift out to Belgium’s right wing, he might be able to breeze straight past the veteran defender, who is more accustomed to playing centre back these days. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Doku and Leandro Trossard swap wings for Belgium as the game goes on.
Daniel James is a big miss for Wales, out through illness. His pace would have caused Belgium a lot of problems on the counter-attack and fitted in nicely with Bellamy’s gameplan.
Let’s unpack those teams a little.
Belgium make two changes from the side that were disappointing held by North Macedonia at the weekend. Aston Villa duo André Onana and Youri Tielemans come into the midfield for Rangers’ Nicolas Raskin and Hans Vanaken, which should give them more balance in the middle. Leandro Trossard also gets a start, having not featured at all from the bench in Skopje.
Perhaps not surprisingly against stronger opposition, Bellamy favours a more mobile, faster, counter-attacking side. So Kiefer Moore drops to the bench, with Brennan Johnson pushed forward to striker. Wales will play five at the back, with wing backs Ben Davies and Connor Roberts providing width alongside wingers David Brooks and Sorba Thomas. Central midfield is rather lightweight, with Jordan James and Harry Wilson, but there is plenty of technical ability in there, too.
The teams!
Belgium: Sels, Meunier, Faes, Debast, De Cuyper, Tielemans, Onana, Trossard, De Bruyne, Doku, Lukaku.
Subs: Vandevoordt, Lammens, Theate, Openda, Lukebakio, De Winter, De Ketelaere, Mechele, Moreira, Vanaken, Raskin, Saelemaekers.
Wales: Darlow, Roberts, Mepham, Ampadu, Rodon, Ben Davies, Brooks, Jordan James, Wilson, Thomas, Johnson.
Subs: Ward, Adam Davies, Dasilva, Matondo, Cullen, Moore, Kpakio, Cabango, Harris, Koumas, Sheehan, Broadhead.
Referee: Irfan Peljto (Bosnia-Herzegovina)
Preamble
If Wales are to qualify for the men’s World Cup for just the third time in their history, getting something from this crucial qualifier will likely be a huge reason why. Despite a poor start to Belgium’s campaign – a 1-1 draw with North Macedonia, their only game to date – Rudi Garcia’s side are the overwhelming favourites to top Group J and claim the only automatic qualification spot. In a group also containing Kazakhstan and Liechtenstein, can a team that contains Kevin De Bruyne, Youri Tielemans, Romelu Lukaku and Jérémy Doku really manage to mess this up? Wales will be hoping the answer is yes.
Craig Bellamy’s side have made a good start to their campaign, drawing away at North Macedonia and beating Kazakhstan and Liechtenstein. A draw or a win in Brussels tonight would be an epic achievement but not completely off the cards. It has happened before and it can happen again, the spirit of Hal Robson-Kanu in 2016 looms large.
Kick-off: 7.45pm BST.
