Belgium's Lukaku recovering well but will miss Morocco clash - Martinez

LukakuLukaku has played two club games since August due to thigh and hamstring issues, and Martinez is taking a cautious approach towards a player who is key to Belgium’s chances in Qatar.

"Romelu was only ever going to be available for the third game (against Croatia) and we will carry on with that, but he is ahead of where he should be," Martinez told reporters on Saturday.

"He has trained twice now with the group and the signs are very good. We have to see how he reacts today at training. I don’t expect him to be involved (against Morocco), he is still not 100% at this time."

Defender Toby Alderweireld and midfielder Kevin De Bruyne were seen in a heated argument around when to play long balls during Belgium’s lacklustre 1-0 opening victory over Canada. Martinez played down the row and insists there is no rift between the two.

"We should not try to create an issue where there is not one," he said. "You have two experienced players that have played over 70 games together for the national team. They are both winners and they really want to perform well."

Martinez is wary of the threat of Morocco, a team he knows well.

"They are a team with a very good mixture between their flair and their quality," he says. "They have players that can create numerical advantages in the wide areas. They are well-organised, disciplined and have a good structure in the middle.

"They go eye-to-eye against anyone. They have an incredible belief."

UNDERCOOKED

Belgium drew criticism for their poor display against the Canadians, which was well below the standard they have set in recent years.

But Martinez says they, like other teams in the competition, will improve having not had their usual preparation for a major finals.

"We arrived at the first game with five (training sessions) and that means the team is not ready. We have seen teams start really well (in matches) but then they could not manage the game," he said.

"You will see teams being ready only after three games. They are having to get ready while they are in the tournament and that is dangerous because it can cost you points."

EMOTIONAL

Morocco head coach Walid Regragui has warned the Belgian-born players in his squad to stay focused, saying they risk costly mistakes if they get emotional on a "special" occasion.

Morocco, ranked 22nd in the world, have four Belgian-born players in their squad: Midfielder Selim Amallah and forward Ilias Chair were born there, while midfielder Bilal El Khannouss and winger Anass Zaroury both played for Belgium at the youth level before switching sides to Morocco.

"For any dual national .. they have a special emotion and that's a positive energy and you have to draw on that," Regragui told reporters on Saturday.

"But it is a match that we need to win (irrespective) of who we are playing. We have to focus on that.

"We know that this is a special match for them, but we have to put that into context. You cannot get too emotional because that could lead you to make mistakes. And that could be very expensive for us."

Regragui, who took over Morocco in September after Vahid Halilhodzic was fired, said the team were eager to pull off a surprise against giants Belgium as they look to come out of Group F, which he described as "the group of death".

"Belgium are favourites, they have outstanding players and an excellent coach... They have great players even on the bench. They have experience... it will be a tough game," the 47-year-old coach said.

Regragui said the goalless draw with Croatia would help them play in a relaxed mood against Belgium and that they would not fear taking risks.

"We can give Belgium problems in midfield and technically we need to be much better... we need to keep possession and create chances, and if we do that we will keep Belgium under pressure."

But Regragui has to deal with fitness issues, with defender Noussair Mazraoui a doubt after being stretchered off in the game against Croatia with a hip injury.

"He is out for now but hopefully he will back for tomorrow," Regragui said. "Mazraoui and Achraf (Hakimi) and other players including the captain (Roman Saiss) have some fitness issues but hopefully they will be back.

"We have three games in this group stage and we hope to go further than that, and we have to try to do that without taking any risks with injuries. We will decide tomorrow if we can start them but they are ready."

Morocco beat Belgium 4-1 the last time the teams met in 2008 in an international friendly.