Martinez hints at changes for England clash
By Matt Slater
Belgium boss Roberto Martinez praised Romelu Lukaku for his “clinical” finishing in the 5-2 thrashing of Tunisia, but then dropped a big hint that he would be rested for the Group G decider against England.
The Manchester United striker scored twice before limping off in the 59th minute, with Eden Hazard also getting a brace and Michy Batshuayi claiming No. 5.
D y l a n Br o n n gave Tunisia brief hope with a first- half header, but Wahbi Khazri’s stoppagetime strike was only a consolation.
England needed a goal in added time to beat Tunisia in their opening game, but the Red Devils had no such worries, tearing into the North African side from the start a nd cr e a t i n g chances at will.
They had 23 shots, 12 on target, and Batshuayi should have scored a hattrick after coming on for Hazard with 20 minutes to play.
Speaking after the game, Martinez explained that Lukaku injured an ankle ligament, while Hazard strained his calf and Dries Mertens also hurt his ankle.
Asked if this meant there would be changes for the game against England in Kaliningrad on Thursday, Martinez said: “The answer is very clear – if we had seven days to prepare, it would be the same starting XI.
“In international football, the reality now is we have qualified. There will be opportunities to give minutes to other players. There will be major changes against England.”
L u k a k u’s first-half brace means he is tied with Ronaldo as the tournament’s top scorer on f o u r g o a l s. A f t e r scoring 27 times in his first season at Old Trafford, he has now reached 40 goals for Belgium.
After some criticism of his work- rate in the first game against Panama, not least from Hazard, Lukaku was superb at the Spartak Stadium and his manager was impressed.
“Romelu will try to score as many goals as he can, but not at all costs,” he said. “I thought he was incisive, in the right position, in a confident mood.
“In front of goal, he was as clinical as you might expect.”
Tunisia’s coach Nabil Maaloul was despondent after wards, although nobody could fault his players’ efforts on a hot and h u m id da y in Moscow.
“As expected, it was a very difficult match,” Maaloul said.
“We would like to apologise to the Tunisian fans who were numerous in the stadium today.
“However, we did our best and we will try to improve our performance in the future.”