The former Everton manager is rebuilding his reputation in charge of Belgium while a temper tantrum may well have opened the Italy door for Mario Balotelli
Three games, three wins, 13 goals scored and none conceded. It’s fair to say that Roberto Martinez has had a good start to life as the new Belgium manager.
Tougher tests lie in wait as the Belgians have been matched point-for-point by a resurgent Greece at the top of Group H but Martinez’s road to redemption following his sacking by Everton has begun well.
Belgium, smarting from a poor show at Euro 2016, dispensed with Marc Wilmots in favour of a coach with a broader tactical pallet and the Catalan has done well to coax strong performances from his captain Eden Hazard among others.
Even without skipper Vincent Kompany and the influential playmaker Kevin de Bruyne due to injury, Belgium had too much power and class for Bosnia and Herzegovina last week and Gibraltar on Monday night following a win away at Cyprus on matchday one.
Romelu Lukaku was rested against the part-timers with replacement Christian Benteke scoring a hat-trick including a world-record breaking goal timed after just seven seconds of play.
It was the performance against Bosnia however that should give Belgian fans encouragement. Edin Dzeko’s side were simply blown away by a vastly superior Belgium playing to their collective potential with Dries Mertens among the best players on the night in their 4-0 win.
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