After Balogun fracas, Belgium False 9 Charles de Ketelaere catches US cold
Kevin de…..Ketelaere. While the focus of the Round of 16 match was entirely on USA’s No. 9 Folarin Balogun, Belgium coach Rudi Garcia was loading up his own False 9 move. With the rescinding of the American striker’s red card dominating the narrative going into the clash, Garcia had already got down to plotting his on-field response. Part 1 of that plan was striking off the talismanic Kevin de Bruyne from the starting sheet, given his returns from the first four matches were sparse. And Part 2 was giving his 6-ft-4 versatile No. 9 Charles Ketelaere the freedom to take on his multiple duties upfront – an attacking midfielder-cum-winger-cumcentre forward. Known for his vision and dribbling skill that resembles De Bruyne’s, and the technical finesse to back the intelligence, the Atalanta player had been deployed exactly like this in pre-World Cup friendlies. Unleashing the 25-year-old De Ketelaere on the USA was a move the co-hosts didn’t see coming, as Garcia held back Romelu Lukaku too. The result was two quick goals in the first half …
