They were in the joke group

FIFA were so desperate to get the co-hosts through that their 'seedings' were a complete joke. As a result, Argentina, England, Sweden and Nigeria - all probably among the best 16 sides on paper - ended up in one group; and Japan, Belgium, Russia and Tunisia, all among the worst 16, in another. Brazil, Turkey, Costa Rica and China was another nonsense group too.

Belgium still did well though: managed by cigar chomping Robert Waseige, who did a very underrated job, and orchestrated some really nice stuff at times. Two years earlier, he took over and one of his first games in charge finished Holland 5-5 Belgium!

Posted By: thebigfeller, Jun 17, 15:46:48