Sports

Why the US has a good shot at beating the Belgians

Shep Messing, who was a teammate of Pele on the New York Cosmos and goalkeeper on the 1972 Olympic squad, will give Post readers his insights and opinions periodically during the World Cup. Messing also serves as MSG Network’s New York Red Bulls analyst and is calling World Cup games for ESPN Radio. As told to Brian Lewis.

The great thing about this US-Belgium game is there are so many different approaches to look at it from, so many story lines. Take their roster, the dollar value, the talent, the clubs they play for: Go man-for-man, we don’t stack up. Everybody’s saying Belgium is the next great team, the dark horse to win the World Cup.

I’ll take a different picture.

Belgium has looked poor.

I don’t take away the fact that man-for-man, we don’t match with them. But no European team has ever won a World Cup in North America or South America. England is at home. Italy is at home. Spain is at home. Holland should be home. France struggled against Nigeria.

My overview is that the European teams in this World Cup are a bit arrogant, and they have an air of superiority. That’s how they act, that’s how they feel, that’s how they behave. The South and Central American teams are loving it. And here comes Belgium against the U.S., and all the pressure is on Belgium to perform.

Despite being tabbed as strong favorites going into the World Cup’s knockout stage, the Belgians (here miming a team selfie while celebrating a goal) have looked weak, Shep Messing says.Matthew Lewis/Getty Images

This US team, its mentality is growing. We’re not going to be beaten in terms of fight and effort over 90 minutes. My hope is we can sneak a goal.

There’s a skill battle going on; just line up Belgium and they beat us. But there’s also a mental component to the game; my vote goes to the US. We’re not going to quit on the game. We’re going to fight to the end. I don’t know if Belgium doesn’t start feeling the nerves, feeling the pressure. There are a lot of expectations put on them in this tournament, and they haven’t shined in group play.

The other part is tactical. The US has a really huge tactical problem — or opportunity.

Jozy Altidore may be my favorite player on the team, and his importance is irreplaceable given the roster. Jurgen Klinsmann has said he is fit to go after straining his hamstring in the US opener, but I’d find it a medical miracle if he played.

It’s a pure psychological play for Klinsmann, which he’s terrific at. Now he’s got Belgium preparing for what if Altidore is in the lineup, and what if he’s out?

But I can’t see any way in the world that he could play. I’d find it beyond remarkable if he plays any role in the game, except psychology.

The Belgians’ strength is attacking in wide positions, but I don’t think they really have an identity yet. They’re dynamite attacking from wide, but sometimes they like to feed the beast in the middle.

Their attacking from wide will pin Fabian Johnson back, unless he can get forward and make them defend. Without Altidore, we’re limited offensively, so how do we tactically approach this game? I don’t know, because of Klinsmann. And I’m not saying that negatively. He could surprise everybody.

Does he go with Geoff Cameron or Omar Gonzalez next to Matt Besler in the back? Does he leave the team the same or change it?

The higher on the field Michael Bradley plays, the worse it is. My wish is put Kyle Beckerman on the bench, Bradley back where he’s comfortable, Clint Dempsey wide left and Graham Zusi wide right. Let’s see what midfielder Mix Diskerud can do. Do you throw in Aron Johannsson or Chris Wondolowski? I don’t think so, because Klinsmann hasn’t up until now.

But I don’t think the US can afford to play against Belgium the way it did against Germany. If we’re on our heels defending the whole game, we’ll lose.

If there’s a weakness, it’s that Belgium’s two centerbacks are slow, and their holding midfielders are really attacking players. The gut of Belgium’s defense is vulnerable to speed.

This is a 50-50 game. What I hope for is a tight, close battle and I hope for penalty kicks, because we’re the winner with penalty kicks. I think we’re the winner with Tim Howard. We’re the winner with our mentality if it gets to that point.

The longer the game goes without a goal, the better for us. I haven’t seen this young Belgium team do it yet, this expensive dark horse everybody’s talking about.

All the pressure is on them, not the US.

I’m so excited for today. I can’t wait.