A rocky start in the World Cup in Brazil
Brazil’s World Cup adventure began with Belgium facing a prosperous and advanced team in the FIFA rankings with the top five, which included Hazard, Mertens, Dubroin, and the legendary goalkeeper Courtois, and many nominated him to compete for the title. While Halilhodzic played with a very conservative lineup, and it can be said that the Belgium match was the worst match played by the “Greens” in the World Cup in the history of the four participations, players were concerned not to lose and did not seek to win.
Halilhodzic surprised the “Greens” supporters in that match, which was now 12 years old, and was played on June 17, 2014. He surprised them by starting Riyad Mahrez, but the Leicester City player was disappointed, and appeared only once in the first half, during which he sent a very high ball past Courtois’ goal, although the Greens benefited in the 25th minute of the first half from a penalty kick, their only one in the history of their participation in the World Cup, which was won by Sofiane. Feghouli scored and scored, and midfielder Taider and his teammates were unable to curb the attacks of the Belgium national team, which dominated and took possession but did not come close to Rais Mbolhi’s goal.
In the second stage, Halilhodzic demonstrated his inability against the Belgium national team, which continued its control and pressure. Luck, as well as M’bolhi, was on the lookout for the Belgians’ attempt, who in the 70th minute were able to score a goal with a Marouane Fellaini header, in which M’bolhi was somewhat far from his goal, and at a time when the “Greens” supporters hoped that the match would end in a positive draw, with which the remainder of the journey could be planned. The Napoli player Mertens escaped control and scored a fatal goal. In the 80th minute, the Green players were unable to respond and lost the opening match, to the Belgium national team, which was not as strong as the general public thought.
The Algerians were very angry with that bitter defeat, not with the result itself, but with the players’ choices and also with the poor performance. To date, there is not in the memory of the “Greens” supporters a single shot or clear scoring opportunity in a boring match that made the supporters suggest new players for the second match, which is what Halilhodzic complied with, who philosophized, but his calculations turned out to be wrong.
The Algerians did not place their blame on the players, who were all in a very poor state of morale, but rather on the Bosnian coach, who then relented and included those who were criticizing them against the South Korean team.
In the Belgium match, the “Greens” turned into a team of prostrators. When Sofiane Feghouli scored the kick in the 25th minute, he ran to the corner to the right of the Belgian goalkeeper and fell to the ground, thanking God for the goal. Taider, Gholam, and the others prostrated next to him in a shot that remained in the memory of the supporters and players.
The beginning of a closed tournament with a defeat that reduces the chances of qualifying, and also destabilizes morale, and the Belgium national team was not tired at that time, yet points were lost, or even one point would have been worth the weight of gold.
