Belgium’s easy win is a reality check for England
Belgium 5 Hazard 6 pen, 51, Lukaku 16, 45, Batshuayi 90
Tunisia 2 Bronn 18, Khazri 90
Att: 44,190
Belgium in 2018: a team who create many more goalscoring chances than they convert with a 40-goal centre-forward who is only 25 years old – and yet with qualification almost assured, Romelu Lukaku is not likely to be a concern for England yet.
Lukaku went off injured as Roberto Martinez’s team pasted Tunisia under warm summer rain but not before he had scored the 39th and 40th goals of his international career. Had he scored them in an England shirt, Belgium’s all-time top goalscorer would currently be tied for fifth place on the England list with Michael Owen.
The Manchester United striker now has 23 goals and four assists in his last 20 games for his country and, for all those chances that slip away, this is a team that creates them by the bucketload. When Lukaku bears down on goal, or runs in behind on to a pass from one of the many creatives in this side, you can never be sure what kind of finish is coming but – as with his club – he finishes enough to be a very significant figure at this World Cup finals
There were two more for Eden Hazard as Belgium dismantled Tunisia in a way that England could never manage when they won in injury time against the North Africans in their opening game, and much of it was impressive. Hazard flitted around the Tunisia area, drawing one of the competition’s most reckless fouls from Syam Ben Youssef after just four minutes to gain the penalty that set Belgium on their way.
Before the end when the substitute Michy Batshuayi buried one of his five chances, it was possible to have lost count of the opportunities Belgium had passed up. They still managed to concede a second in the third minute of injury time and it was this moment, and others, that will give opponents in the later rounds reason to think.
Lukaku, who suffered an ankle ligament injury, looks unlikely to be in the team against England on Thursday. Belgium will qualify for the second round if England avoid defeat to Panama today and if that is the case Martinez will make “major changes” for Thursday, including Hazard who has a calf problem. Even so, both nations face the difficult question of whether first or second would be more advantageous.
Martinez said he would only try to win Thursday’s game, although the thought must have occurred to him that second place could be better.
“Football has a strange knack of punishing you when you don’t do things professionally,” he said. “What’s important is that every player will have a role to play, we will take it very cautiously and approach the game against England really well. We won’t be thinking of anything other than approaching that game really well.”
The obvious weakness is at the centre of the three-man Belgium defence where Dedryck Boyata, the Celtic centre-half, is not quite of the standard of Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen either side of him. He was well protected in this game but better opposition may well feel they can pick away at that rearguard, and Tunisia’s breakthrough came from a left-sided free-kick.
Tunisia were set up to try to win the game, although it never looked likely from the moment that Hazard was taken out around the ankles. Nabil Maaloul, Tunisia’s coach, suggested that his players never recovered from that penalty, even though they briefly came back to 2-1 thanks to Dylan Bronn’s header from a Wahbi Khazri free-kick, with the defender then injured and substituted, one of two Tunisians who did not last the first half. They simply did not have the quality to break down Belgium more than a couple of times, although there was a highquality performance from Khazri, who got his goal right at the last.
A desperate time at Sunderland seemed no impediment to a very promising World Cup finals for the man now on loan at Rennes and he was skilful and explosive when on the ball.
Martinez said that it was an “open game”, which was an understatement given the freedom Tunisia afforded their opponents, and some of the passing was breathtaking, with Dries Mertens and Hazard combining for the move that led to the penalty.
“You have two options,” Martinez said, “to play through the press you have really good opportunities, and if you don’t get through the press, you will concede chances.” The reality is that with Kevin De Bruyne, Hazard and Mertens in their team there was no chance of Belgium not finding a way through to goal.
Lukaku’s shot for his first was scuffed slightly but deceived goalkeeper Farouk Ben Mustapha. The man from Old Trafford did not always have his first touch tuned up and one would later run away from him before he made it 3-1 with a delicate dink over Ben Mustapha from a fine ball by Thomas Meunier.
That was just before half-time and at 3-1 down Tunisia had lost all shape and most of their hope. The fourth began with Alderweireld who struck it from his own half, a long hit that dropped over the defence. Hazard took it on his chest, then once with his left foot to steer past Ben Mustapha and another with his right to finish things off.
The first Tunisia goal had come from a set-piece and Martinez said that the high number of goals from dead balls was a consequence of the video assistant referees spotting grappling in the area. This time Bronn made a run from deep in the area and was not picked up by the Belgian defence as he glanced a fine header past Thibaut Courtois.
On for Hazard, Batshuayi missed a run of chances, including one cleared off the line and another against the bar. He finally slid one in at the back post before Khazri got his goal from substitute Hamdi Nagguez’s cross. Belgium had made their point – they have the goals in them, although the game against England is not shaping up be the highstakes decider it might have been.