Belgium vs Iceland Nations League preview: where to watch, team news
Tuesday, September 8, 2020
Article summary
Belgium face Iceland in UEFA Nations League Group 2 – all you need to know.
Article top media content
Article body
Belgium face Iceland in UEFA Nations League Group 2 in Brussels on Tuesday 8 September at 20:45 CET.
Where to watch the game on TV
Fans can find their local UEFA Nations League broadcast partner(s) here
Results so far
05/09Denmark 0-2 Belgium
05/09Iceland 0-1 England
Squads
Belgium
Goalkeepers: Casteels (Wolfsburg), Mignolet (Club Brugge), Van Crombrugge (Anderlecht)
Defenders: Alderweireld (Tottenham), Castagne (Atalanta), Denayer (Lyon), Dendoncker (Wolves), Mechele (Club Brugge), Meunier (Dortmund), Vertonghen (Benfica)
Midfielders: De Bruyne (Manchester City), T Hazard (Dortmund), Praet (Leicester), Tielemans (Leicester), Vanaken (Club Brugge), Witsel (Dortmund)
Forwards: Batshuayi (Chelsea), Dimata (Anderlecht), Doku (Anderlecht), E Hazard (Real Madrid), Mertens (Napoli), Trossard (Brighton), Verschaeren (Anderlecht)
Iceland
Goalkeepers: Gunnarsson (Brentford), Halldórsson (Valur), Kristinsson (Olympiacos), Rúnarsson (Dijon)
Defenders: Árnason (Víkingur), Eyjólfsson (Levski Sofia), Fjóluson (unattached), Hermannsson (Brøndby), Magnússon (CSKA Moskva), Sampsted (Bodø/Glimt), Skúlason (Oostende)
Midfielders: Anderson (Midtjylland), Baldursson (Bologna), Bjarnason (Brescia), Friðjónsson (Paderborn), Hallfreðsson (unattached), Pálsson (Darmstadt), Þorsteinsson (AGF), A Sigurðsson (CSKA Moskva), Traustason (Malmö)
Forwards: Sigþórsson (AIK), Böðvarsson (Millwall), Guðmundsson (AZ), Friðjónsson (Aalesunds)
Previous meetings
• Belgium have won all 11 of their previous meetings with Iceland, most recently beating them 3-0 away and 2-0 at home in the 2018/19 UEFA Nations League.
• Iceland have not scored in their last eight competitive games against Belgium, since they lost 5-2 at home against the Red Devils in a World Cup qualifier in 1957.
What the coaches say
Roberto Martínez, Belgium coach: "It was a difficult start to the game for us [in Saturday's 2-0 win in Denmark], but my team’s reaction in the second half was very good. With Iceland, I expect a similar performance [to Saturday against England]; I was surprised by the organisation and defensive timing of their set-up. They defend very well and we will have to break this organisation to make a difference."
Erik Hamrén, Iceland coach: "It's No1 in the world against No39, so everyone expects a Belgian victory. That was also the case in the previous edition of the Nations League two years ago. I didn't think we were playing too poorly back then, but we lost twice. We must play as a team, handle the one-on-one situations and offer something going forwards. Being realistic, our best chance of a goal is on the counterattack."
Next up
11/10 England vs Belgium
11/10 Iceland vs Denmark