Our prediction for this Nations League match:
Belgium will look to overtake Netherlands in top position in Group 4 when they host Wales to King Boudouin Stadium on Thursday. The Red Devils will be without attacking duo Divock Origi and Romelu Lukaku in the upcoming Nations League games, with Alexis Saelemaekers and Charles De Ketelaere receiving call-ups. As always, a man to watch in the home team will be Man City ace Kevin de Bruyne, who impressed in a 3-0 win over Wolverhampton at the weekend.
The Dragons, on the other hand, aim to bounce back from a 3-2 loss to Netherlands, and they will continue to rely on MLS star Gareth Bale. However, home win should be considered as all Aaron Ramsey, Harry Wilson, and Adam Davies miss out with injuries. In their last meeting in Belgium the Red Devils defeated the Dragons 3-1.
Highlighted Player (Jan Vertonghen):
After spending four years at Ajax, in 2006 Jan Vertonghen signed a loan deal with RKC Waalwijk. The left-footed defender spent one season at Mandemakers Stadion and he returned to Ajax for the 2007/2008 season. The highly rated footballer, who is capable of playing as both centre back and left back, signed a deal with Tottenham Hotspur on 8 July, 2012 and he has been playing for the Premier League outfit ever since.
The Belgian defender scored four goals for the Spurs in the 2012/2013 Premier League season and he made 34 league appearances for the White Hart Lane outfit back then. In the 2015/2016 season Jan Vertonghen and his teammates were producing brilliant displays with Tottenham, but the Spurs eventually finished the campaign in third place in the standings.
Speaking of his international career, Vertonghen made it to both World Cup (2014) and Euro (2016) quarter-finals with the Belgian national team. Jan was born on 24 April, 1987 and his shirt number is 5.
Highlighted Team (Wales):
Despite being part of the United Kingdom, Wales national football team has been competing in FIFA tournaments since 1950, although they have so far only reached two tournament finals. The Dragons surprised everyone by making it to the quarter-finals at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, but little did they know that it would remain their only World Cup appearance up to date.
Wales had plenty of problems in the European Championship qualifiers as well, but they finally managed to end the barren run by securing their place at the Euro 2016 in France. Led by the likes of Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey, Joe Allen and Ashley Williams, the Dragons performed admirably throughout the campaign and even reached the 8th position in the FIFA Rankings in October 2015.
Neville Southall remains the team’s most capped player, but the generation that included Ryan Giggs, Gary Speed, Craig Bellamy and John Hartson will also be remembered for some impressive performances against top European national teams.