LIVESTREAM: Team Spain Hosts Belgium In International Friendly
Team Spain will play host to Belgium this weekend in a game to be livestreamed on Saturday August 6. The game will be played at the municipal football field in Oropesa del Mar (Castellón) in Spain.
Both teams suffered defeats in 2015 in IFAF Europe Goup B qualifications, eliminating them from advancing.
Spain was defeated by Israel last September in Spain 28-20 ending their chances for advancement. Then the Belgian Barbarians traveled to Holland where they lost 17-3 in front of a packed and roaring Dutch crowd.
Team Belgium is entering only its third year of existence and has seen steady improvement with so many games now under its belt. In addition to the loss to Holland last year, the Belgians also played Poland (27-20 loss) as well as Slovakia (42-18 win).
Team Spain in action against Israel
The Spaniards were not as busy however having only played the one game against Israel last year.
Belgium’s head coach Lee Rosky has been building the national team program for the past three years drawing from the two separate (Flemish and French) divisions.The Barbarians are traveling to Spain with a 45 man roster. Rosky has a highly experienced six man coaching staff and his squad is made up of Belgians playing in the Belgian leagues (from the FAFL and LLFAB) and in other European leagues.
Two key players Rosky will rely on are veteran quarterback Tomas Firsch along with wide receiver Ruben de Ruyter who played in Sweden winning the Swedish championship with the Carlstad Crusaders.
Team Belgium QB Tomas Firsch
Team Spain’s head coach Marcos Guirles has had his team in camp all week in preparation for this game. With 52 players in camp, Guirles is still missing many of his key starters. The team with the highest representation is the second division Las Rozas Black Demons with seven players on hand. Guirles is also head coach of the Spanish junior national team and he is bringing a dozen members of that squad, which beat Italy recently 29-0, to play in the game against Belgium.
Given the roster composition, the game against Belgium will be a test for both Spanish teams (senior and junior).
Kickoff: Saturday August 6, 8 PM (2 PM EDT)
