The Dark (Belgian) Horse

“Les Diables Rouges” translates to the Red Devils. Not Manchester United, but the Belgian National Team. I can assure you, after next year's World Cup we will stop associating Belgium only with Tintin and the main hub for the European Union. It hit me when I chose Belgium in FIFA 13 just how good their squad is. After the sacking of managers Franky Vercauteren and Dick Advocaat, Belgium seems to have finally found a balance between their youth and experience and they are definitely ready to make an impact in Brazil next year.

Belgium's golden era of football was during the 1980s when they finished 2nd in the European Championship in 1980 held in Italy. Ever since then, they have only qualified once out of 7 attempts for the European Championships. After Georges Leekens and then Marc Wilmots took over the managing role, the winds of change are already showing as they have not lost a single match in 2013 so far. They sit on top of group A, 3 points clear of Croatia, and look poised to qualify for the World Cup by topping their group.

The English Premier League is the who's who of the Belgian national team including Vincent Kompany, Jan Vertonghen and Thomas Vermaelen. Vertonghen was Tottenham's best buy and best player last season. Kompany brings the stability with the mindset of a strong captain. The midfield is graced by the Hazard brothers (Eden and Thorgan). Combining the pace and finesse of Eden Hazard and the physicality of Marouane Fellaini, it will be quite challenging to get through their midfield. Lest we forget Mousa Dembele, the technically gifted Axel Witsel, and Dries Mertens of Napoli being deployed from the wings.
The one thing I suggested to everyone when they started to have an FPL is “Keep calm and pick Benteke”. He was dubbed a one season wonder last year and even so early into the new season you can tell this forward will make a massive impact for Aston Villa. The other strike forces for the Belgians include Chelsea's Romelu Lukaku and Everton's Kevin Mirallas.
If that's not enough, think of what they will have from the youth department such as Kevin de Bruyne of Chelsea or Steven Defour of Porto.
Consider this; Spain never won the World Cup before 2010 despite having a strong squad throughout the years. It boils down to having the mental strength (not the Arsene Wenger state) of moving from one match to another and not letting a single upset shake the core team during the qualifying and group stages. Spain availed even after losing their opening match against Switzerland in South Africa. So a slight slip or two shouldn't be an issue for the Belgiques to take it, maybe not all the way, but at least till the quarterfinals.