“Belgium’s first game left their fans relieved rather than ecstatic. After a dire first half, the Red Devils came good when Marc Wilmots made some changes. Dries Mertens, Belgium’s super sub, provided the width that was so lacking in the first half and scored the winner in the end, but it was Marouane Fellaini who really cracked things open when he headed home a great equalizer. Sofiane Feghouli’s first-half penalty had given Algeria a 1-0 lead. The game certainly didn’t go according to plan. Algeria kept almost their entire team behind the ball at all times and stifled Belgium’s usual fluent passing. There was lots of possession, but it was impossible to make it count with a double wall of white shirts effectively killing the game.” ESPN (Video)

World Cup Tactical Analysis: Belgium 2-1 Algeria
“A dreary performance from Belgium was rescued with two goals in the concluding 20 minutes as Marc Wilmots’ side defeated Algeria 2-1 in the Group H opener in Estádio Mineirão. Algeria took the lead through a Sofiane Feghouli penalty after Jan Vertonghen hauled down the Valencia talisman. Marouane Fellaini was brought on and promptly equalized with a winding header, before Dries Mertens, who came on as a substitute for Chadli, scored the winner when he finished off a swift counter-attack with a clinical strike, putting the game to bed.” Outside of the Boot

Resolute Algeria must learn lessons
“Algeria will feel dejected having been so close to executing the perfect game plan against Belgium. Their inability to tactically adapt to game-changing substitutions, however, cost them dearly in their 2-1 defeat. To borrow an old cliche, it was a match of two halves in Belo Horizonte as second half goals from Marouane Fellaini and Dries Mertens turned the match around and wrecked Algeria’s hopes of an upset. Their coach Vahid Halilhodzic elected to revert to a 4-3-3 formation he recently implemented in a friendly match against Romania in early June and it seemed to work. For large spells of the match, Belgium looked perplexed as they struggled to break down rows of organised white shirts. They often put 11 men behind the ball and their staggered lines looked inpenetrable.” ESPN