Prediction: Belgium vs Mexico

Verdict: Belgium to win and both teams to score

Best Odds: 9/4

Bookmaker: Bet 365

The World Cup is quickly approaching now with two of the tournament’s teams Belgium and Mexico meeting in a warm up game at the Stade Roi Baudouin on Friday night.

Belgium

There’s no doubt that Belgium have looked considerably better since Roberto Martinez took over the side last year. His team have gone the whole of the qualification process unbeaten, drawing only one game away to Russia, and scoring an incredible 43 goals in the process. In fact the Belgians have netted 19 times in their last four international fixtures but they have also shown signs of defensive frailty on occasions, proven in their 4-3 away win against Serbia. Even though their match against Mexico is only a friendly, Martinez’s men won’t be taking it lightly as they’ll want to maintain their form ahead of the tournament next summer. Despite never winning a major trophy in their history, De Rode Duivels will be one of the favourites for the World Cup after the current ‘golden generation’ have managed to raise a few eyebrows across the international scene. Striker Michy Batshuayi looks a good bet to score on Friday in place of Romelu Lukaku who may be rested.

Team News

Centre backs Toby Alderweirald and Vicent Kompany will miss the match due to injury. Marouane Fellaini, Yannick Carrasco and Christian Benteke are also absentees.

Meanwhile, Adnan Januzaj has earned a recall for the first time since 2014.

Mexico

Juan Carlos Osorio’s men were a class act in the CONCACAF section of the World Cup qualifying and managed to top the table having accumulated 21 points from 10 games, losing just once. Mexico’s entry to the tournament was made ever the sweeter due to the USA’s failure to join them in the final match of the campaign. Even though El Tri impressed during the qualifying stages, their away record recently has been less efficient – winning just one of their last six matches. The Mexicans will be hoping they can turn things around fast -starting with the warm-up game on Friday – especially after their disastrous Confederations Cup attempt in which they only picked up one point from nine. Nonetheless, Osorio’s team still possess an attack minded approach, which is why combined with the free scoring Belgium, we will hopefully witness an end-to-end game. Javier Hernandez and Carlos Vela look most likely to net but Mexico could still be on the wrong end of defeat against the dangerous Belgians.

Team News

Defenders Oswaldo Alanis and Rafa Marquez have been left out of the squad.

Key Factors to Consider

• Belgium are unbeaten in their last 13 games in all competitions
• Mexico have won just one of their last six away matches
• De Rode Duivels scored an incredible 43 goals in 10 games in the qualifying process
• Romelu Lukaku netted 11 times during the campaign
• These two sides haven’t met since the 1998 World Cup in France where they drew 2-2

Conclusion

Belgium are looking incredible at the moment and are looking serious contenders to win the World Cup next summer due to their quality all around the pitch. Even though Mexico have decent attacking threats, they may struggle to contain their opponents, especially playing away from home.

Verdict: Belgium to win and both teams to score

Best Odds: 9/4

Bookmaker: Bet 365