How Belgium Should Play The 3-4-3

Things finally seem to be moving in Belgium. After countless years of 4-3-2-1 – whatever the squad, whatever the opposition – Martínez experimented with a 3-4-3 v Cyprus last week, although it was actually more of a 3-4-2-1 but more on that later.

I’m a great fan of the 3-4-3 so I was over the moon when I heard about the little Spaniard’s plan. 3-4-3 holds many advantages:

  1. The two wingers allow you to switch from 3-4-3 to 5-2-3 in defence and 3-2-5 in attack which makes it the only formation that can give you the upperhand in numbers at both ends of the pitch.
  2. It is the only formation where you can dedicate 3 players to attacking only, causing a constant “code red” in the opposition’s defence, and still have enough players behind the ball.
  3. It’s the ideal weapon v all those teams that tend to overconcentrate in the center of the pitch and leave their flanks virtually unguarded.

There are indispensable conditions, however, to make this system work:

  1. You need super wingers, players who at the same time are perfectly disciplined (defence needs to be their first concern!), intelligent (know when to pull back and when to push forward), pacy (need to be able to outrun whomever occupies the opposition’s flanks) and incredibly fit (position demands constant running & sprinting).
  2. You need excellent box-to-box players in central midfield. Physical monsters who can switch from defence to attack in the blink of an eye, but technical and creative enough to actually make something happen when going forward.
  3. You need quick, skilful forwards who can take on defenders, cut inside, go round the back and switch positions. There’s no point in playing 3 up front when everyone plays like Andy Carroll.

So the number one question always needs to be: do we have the squad to play this system on a regular basis? Yes, we (Belgium) do!

  • Carrasco (left) and Meunier (right) are the ideal wingers for this system.
  • Belgium has box-to-box players a plenty with Witsel, Dembélé, Nainggolan, Fellaini & De Bruyne (I deliberately mention him here!) in the team.
  • Hazard (Eden and Thorgan!), Mertens (don’t believe what Belgian pundits say!), Mirallas, Musonda Jr., Januzaj, Praet … Are the ideal outside forwards to complement the striker.

So all is perfect then for Belgium? No, Martínez unfortunately got two key elements wrong in how he lined up Belgium’s 3-4-3:

  1. The most important mistake: He played De Bruyne as part of the front 3 in stead of the central midfield. As a result the 3-4-3 actually became a 3-4-2-1 with De Bruyne & Hazard taking up a too central role in behind Lukaku. De Bruyne lacks the agility to be a real outside forward. With his capability to make strong runs from the back to the front he would suit a lot better in that box-to-box role in central midfield. He could replace Fellaini there who in my view is much better suited as the “6” in a midfield triangle rather than the omnipotent box-to-box player in a midfield of two. Also with Witsel & Fellaini as a midfield pairing, there’s not enough creativity there to make things happen. Dries Mertens would be absolutely perfect to then take De Bruyne’s position as right forward. I don’t believe that the formation would become too attacking with De Bruyne in midfield, as some pundits will argue,  he has both the intelligence and the physical strength to fulfill both sides of the deal. Besides, if even Guardiola plays him as an “8” nowadays (admittedly in a midfield of three). But still, with a back 5 in defence (wingers included) and a defensive powerhouse as Witsel to add cover, there really shouldn’t be an issue v opponents like Cyprus, Greece and Gibraltar..
  2. I’m not a fan of Lukaku. Never have been, never will be, no matter how many goals he scores for Belgium. But I think he’s particularly ill-suited for the center forward position in a frontline of 3. In a well oiled 3-4-3 the attackers play quite closely to eachother and link-up all the time. You see me coming right? Lukaku is probably the worst link-up player in the world. With that in mind, I think Origi would make the perfect forward for this position. Instead Martínez sacrificed the young Liverpool forward by “granting” him a non-chance v Spain.

So here’s how Martínez lined up his men v Cyprus:

Courtois,

Alderweireld, Vermaelen, Vertonghen,

Meunier, Fellaini, Witsel, Carrasco,

De Bruyne, E. Hazard,

R. Lukaku

And here’s how he should in the future:

Courtois,

Alderweireld, Kompany/Vermaelen, Vertonghen,

Meunier, De Bruyne, Witsel, Carrasco,

Mertens, Origi, E. Hazard