The Belgians failed to come to terms with the enormity of the occasion at the beginning of their match against Algeria. After all, plenty of the Belgian stars were playing in their first World Cup. Coach Marc Wilmots' team selection did not help either; the safe approach led to the exclusion of Marouane Fellaini and Dries Mertens from the starting line-up. Eventually, Belgium fell behind thanks to a Sofian Feghouli penalty. They had to find their way back.
Thus, Mertens and Fellaini were both introduced. Mertens, coming in for the ineffective Nacer Chadli, allowed Eden Hazard to open up more. His introduction also added more width to Belgium's play. Eventually, the equalizer came; Fellaini was the man to score it. The equalizer seemed to allow Belgium to true show how good they are; they finally seemed to come to terms with their own talent and the occasion itself. Mertens scored a second to hand Belgium a well deserved victory.
Their next match will bring about much tougher opposition though in the form of Russia. The Russians seemed rather sloppy against South Korea. South Korea took the lead following an error from keeper Igor Akinfeev. Fabio Capello decided to change things; he brought on Alan Dzagoev.
The youngster has a reputation of being rather temperamental and thus started on the bench despite being perhaps the most talented player in the squad. He definitely helped Russia improve after his introduction. Russia seemingly woke up from a deep slumber after conceding. They seemed fitter and stronger afterwards. Capello also brought in Alexander Kerzhakov amongst the old members; Kerzhakov justified the move and scored the equalizer. Russia pressed on for the winner and were a tad unlucky perhaps to not get one.
Russia will perhaps look to defend against Belgium and hit them on the counterattack. Belgium will look to earn a second win to bring themselves close to the knockout rounds. All in all, this match is set to be a highy entertaining one and thus, one which will certainly be worth watching.
Where to watch the match: Live Scores, Live Streams, Start Times, TV Schedules
Watch Belgium v Russia live on Sunday, June 22, 2014:
In the US at 12.00 EST on:
- On TV: ESPN Deportes, Univision Deportes USA, Univision USA, ABC
- Online & Apps:ESPN Deportes+, ESPN3 Online-App, Univision Deportes En Vivo, WATCH ESPN, WATCH ABC
- Audio / Radio: ESPN Deportes Radio, ESPN Radio, SiriusXM FC
In Canada at 12.00 ET on:
- On TV: Mediaset Italia, Univision Canada
- Online & Apps: CBC Sports Live Streaming, ICI Radio-Canada En Direct, Radio Canada - CBC
- Audio / Radio: TSN 1200 Ottawa, TSN 1050 Toronto, TEAM 1410 Vancouver
In the UK at 17.00 BST on:
- On TV: BBC One UK, BBC Red Button
- Online & Apps: The BBC iPlayer
- Audio / Radio: BBC Radio 5 Live, TalkSport Radio
In Australia at 06:00 (Monday) on:
- On TV: SBS One Australia
- Audio / Radio: SBS Radio 2, SBS Radio 1
For complete details of match listings and live scores, visit the Belgium vs Russia match page.
STAY TUNED! DOWNLOAD the FREE LiveSoccerTV APP NOW:
For official TV broadcast listings, schedules, live match updates, and much, much more on all the 64 World Cup games, download Live Soccer TV's FREE App! Click on the links:
- For Android => http://bit.ly/lstvgpsm
- For iPhone iOS => http://bit.ly/lstvappsm
