Belgium’s three wins in the World Cup were works of individuals rather than of a team. The players have not yet gelled. The USA on the other hand has played better with a lesser group of players. Team work has been the key to their success and their escape from a highly difficult group of death.
When these two meet in the Round of 16, USA’s battle hardened side will look to bring down Belgium’s golden generation. The stats though seem to be in favor of Belgium.
Average Possession:
USA: 40%; Belgium: 54%
This was to be expected. The USA played three teams who like to control the ball in Portugal, Germany and Ghana. They set up in a manner to defend and hit the teams on the counterattack. All three teams in their group were in fact vulnerable to counterattacks. Each team in Belgium’s groups set up in a defensive manner to contain them.
Both teams scored four goals; thus Belgium needed more time on the ball to score each goal. This also had to do with the fact that they had to unlock tight defenses; also, Belgium played an entire half without a man, something which the USA did not have to do.
What this means is that the USA will have to defeat Belgium using less time on the ball.
Pass Success:
USA: 82%; Belgium: 83%
Both sides have nearly the same success rate when they pass the ball. However, Belgium tends to play more passes over the course of ninety minutes. This stat is certainly not discouraging for USA though.
Aerial Duels Won:
USA: 50%; Belgium: 60%
This stat seems very surprising at first. The USA, considering their style of play, is supposed to be aerially stronger. However, a look at the sides the two teams contested in the group stages tells us why. The USA played the tallest team in the tournament in Germany. Ghana and Portugal are also very physical and can win aerial duels. Belgium played a South Korea side filled with small technical players. The only team they faced with a real aerial threat was Russia.
Shots conceded per game:
USA: 18; Belgium: 10
This is a problematic stat for the USA considering that Belgium has many attackers in the side who have proven themselves time and time again at the highest level. Belgium concedes 10 shots every match, considerably less than the USA. This is more troublesome in light of the fact that Belgium takes 15 shots per game to USA’s nine.
Fouls won per game:
USA: 11; Belgium: 13
The USA players are surprisingly fouled almost as many times as Belgium’s players. This might be down to the fact that Belgium’s players are trickier and are harder to contain; they have 16 successful dribbles per game compared to the USA’s eight. Numbers are surprisingly quite even when the number of fouls conceded are looked at; USA concedes 11 fouls a game while Belgium concedes 13.
Overall, the stats do not look very promising for the USA but the Americans have shown that sometimes it’s the heart and team ethic which wins the battle against better talents. They have defied stats so far and might do so again in this monumental Round of 16 tie in the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
** All stats courtesy of whoscored.com
