WORLD CUP / DAY 5
Unlike the other World Cup favorites that struggled through their opening matches, Belgium looked every part the title contender. Having Dries Mertens and Romelu Lukaku capable of scoring the way they did against Panama helps. “People know I am supposed to score goals,” Lukaku said. “The most important thing to me is to win matches.” Lukaku scored twice in a six-minute span in the second half after Mertens’ perfectly struck volley gave Belgium the lead, and the Red Devils beat overmatched Panama 3-0 Monday in Sochi. Saddled with massive expectations and a lineup of talent the envy of other teams in the tournament, Belgium showed flashes of being a team worthy of title consideration. A shaky first-half performance by Belgium was replaced by a confident, attacking group in the second that was finally able to find gaps in Panama’s defense and convert those chances into goals. “In the World Cup you have to play 90 minutes. You have to be aware that in any game you go into, if you don’t score early on, you have to be prepared to work hard and go through periods in which you are tested,” Belgium coach Roberto Martinez said. The two goals from Lukaku came shortly after Mertens scored from about 18 yards in the opening moments of the second half, finally relieving some pressure after Belgium was unable to break down Panama for the first 45 minutes. Lukaku’s first goal came 20 minutes later, but the pass from Kevin De Bruyne made it possible. Rather than shooting through a crowd of Panama defenders, De Bruyne cut a pass with the outside of his right foot onto Lukaku’s head and into the net. Lukaku added a second on a breakaway minutes later, chipping Panama goalkeeper Jaime Penedo as he left his net. “For me it’s important to have the right line in the box,” Lukaku said. “Usually I’m in the right position at the right time.” Belgium is now unbeaten in its last six World Cup openers, dating back to a 1986 loss to Mexico in the opener. Panama was unable to duplicate what Senegal accomplished in 2002 as the last team to win in its World Cup debut. The Central Americans played their style — physical, aggressive, sometimes looking more like wrestling than soccer — and managed to hang with the Red Devils for more than an hour. But they never created threatening scoring chances — Panama scored only nine goals in 10 World Cup qualifying matches — and eventually Belgium finished its opportunities. The emotion was heavy for the Panamanians who flocked to the Black Sea resort town to see the country play its first World Cup match. Fans cried at hearing their national anthem and the players on the field fought their own emotions while singing. Their voices rose with every Panama attack and the singing and dancing almost never stopped. Panama’s players stayed on the field to salute the fans several minutes after the match ended. Luminaries like Panama President Juan Carlos Varela Rodriguez and baseball star Mariano Rivera were in attendance. They would have just preferred something a little less challenging than one of the pre-tournament favorites. “It was very moving to be able to sing the national anthem and represent our country,” Panama captain Roman Torres said. “It was historic what we went through here today.” Eden Hazard was continually chopped at by Panama’s aggressive defense and was a regular recipient of fouls. Martinez said the amount of hits Hazard took is a concern. Panama was called for 18 fouls and shown five yellow cards. “My worry is that maybe in one of those tackles we’re going to lose the opportunity to enjoy the quality of a player like Eden Hazard,” Martinez said. “That’s not just Eden but any player.”
Sweden got the break it needed from the video review system, and team captain Andreas Granqvist didn’t waste the chance. Granqvist slid his penalty kick into the bottom right corner of the net in the 65th minute to give Sweden a victory over South Korea. “I was calm. I waited for the goalie and then I put it in the corner,” Granqvist said. “We got the penalty, we scored, and then it was just a fight to the end.” The Swedes were awarded the penalty after referee Joel Aguilar consulted a video screen on the sideline following an appeal by the Swedish players. Aguilar had originally waved play on after South Korea substitute Kim Min-woo collided with Viktor Claesson in the area. But he changed his mind after taking another look, deciding Kim had tripped Claesson as he tried to clear the ball in a sliding tackle. It was the third penalty to be awarded because of a video review at this year’s World Cup. France and Peru have also benefitted from the technology, though the Peruvians missed their penalty kick. Sweden had been the better team for much of the game — and finished with 15 attempts on goal to South Korea’s five — but couldn’t beat goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo until the penalty. Sweden was making its return to the World Cup for the first time in 12 years. It is now tied for first place in Group F with Mexico, which beat Germany 1-0. The Swedes will next face the Germans on Saturday, while South Korea plays Mexico on the same day. Before Granqvist’s penalty, Sweden showed most of the attacking intent at Nizhny Novgorod Stadium. Marcus Berg had the best chance of the first half when he was put clear on goal in the 21st minute and had his close-range shot blocked by the right leg of Jo, South Korea’s third-choice goalkeeper. Jo was surprisingly made a starter by coach Shin Tae-yong, who also gambled on a three-man attack of Son Heung-min, Hwang Hee-chan and 6-foot-6 striker Kim Shin-wook. South Korea, which has won only two World Cup matches since its incredible run to the semifinals in 2002, had a chance to level in injury time but Hwang Hee-chan put a header wide from in front of goal. Mohamed Salah showed signs of discomfort with his injured left shoulder while taking part in Egypt’s final training session before the team’s World Cup match against Russia on Tuesday. Salah didn’t appear to be moving his shoulder fully during upper-body exercises on Monday. Moments earlier, Salah took part in light jogging around the St. Petersburg Stadium field and ran at the back of the group, with one coach gently nudging his left shoulder as the striker dribbled with a ball. Salah, the Premier League’s player of the season, is recovering from injuring his shoulder while playing for Liverpool in last month’s Champions League final. He was an unused substitute in Egypt’s first group game at the World Cup — a 1-0 loss against Uruguay on Friday. “I hope he will be fit to play,” Egypt coach Hector Cuper said Monday before training began. “I’m sure he will be able to play.” Salah has taken part in training the last two days. “Salah is fit,” Cuper said. “In the previous match against Uruguay, we thought he was fit ... we always carry out a last physical test before we (decide) the lineup.”
— Associated Press