Excellent start for Belgium

If anybody had underestimated Belgium before the start of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship they may have to think again. Belgium looked comfortable all the way through yesterday's 2-1 win in their opening match against Greece despite the fact that coach Jean-François de Sart left star striker Tom Soetaers on the bench for no less than 73 minutes.

Key member
One of four players in the squad plying his trade at Dutch club Roda JC, Soetaers has established himself as a key member of the squad since his €1m move from RSC Anderlecht two seasons ago. He has now made more than 60 senior appearances and furthered his football education by playing in Roda's UEFA Cup quarter-final tie against Milan AC.

Long tournament
"I decided to leave him on the bench in order to rest him for some of the upcoming matches," said De Sart after the match. "It's a long tournament and I want to rest Tom as much as possible." With group games to come against France and the Czech Republic this could indeed prove a wise decision and it took only nine minutes for Soetaers to prove his striking abilities when he elegantly chested down a cross and volleyed past Stefanos Kotsolis.

Greek pressure
The goal effectively put the game out of the reach of Greece who, in response to Koen Daerden's 33rd-minute opener for Belgium, had pegged back the Red Devils for most of the second half. Yet they failed to create any clear-cut opportunities, apart from Xenofon Gitas's late consolation goal, which must have been a huge disappointment for a side having to live up to a second-place finish in Romania four years ago.

Golden generation
Indeed Greece's last "golden generation" - who lost by a single goal to Spain in Romania - now provide the bulk of the senior team. Panathinaikos players Nikos Liberopoulos, Giorgos Karagounis and Yiannis Goumas, who battled against FC Barcelona in the UEFA Champions' League quarter-final last month, launched their careers in that final. However, against the Belgians there was little to suggest another gold rush is on its way and the lack of creativity up front was illustrated by the fact that Michalopoulos decided to replace playmaker Ioannis Amanatidis at the break with Angelos Haristeas.

Difficult opening match
Michalopoulos was philosophical in defeat and content with his players' performance. "The opening match is always difficult and nerves prevented my players from rising to their usual level," he said. "However, we finished off on a positive note and that is something we can use in our preparation for our next match."

Deadly counterattacks
Michalopoulos applauded Belgium's tactics during the match but believed his side were still in the tie at the interval, despite trailing 1-0. "They really hurt us with their counterattacks," he admitted. "They got nine men behind the ball for long periods, leaving just Daerden on his own up front and it worked for them. At 0-1 we still had a chance, we were still in the game and we had lots of possession but Belgium took their chances and we did not."