World Cup 2018: Belgium must beat mental barrier – Roberto Martinez

Belgium’s international pedigree is mixed. They reached the final of the 1980 European Championships and the last four of the 1986 World Cup, however they failed to reach a major finals between 2002 and 2014.

It was during that absence that a new development structure was founded, based around youngsters playing a 4-3-3 system, and those changes have been vindicated by the plethora of Belgians peppered around Europe’s major leagues.

With that in mind, former Wigan Athletic and Everton boss Martinez draws parallels between his squad and the French team that won the 1998 World Cup and the Spanish side that triumphed at Euro 2008.

Both those nations struggled to convert their ability into silverware but, once they did, they were able to repeat their success – France at Euro 2000 and Spain at both the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012.

“The mentality is the biggest area we have to improve,” Martinez said.

“We need to work on the psychology and the mental aspect of being a team. We need the right mentality to get through the difficult moments of a game.

“When France and Spain did that, and won, there was a knock-on effect where they went on to win more trophies.”