Lukaku scores twice as Belgium batter Ireland
BELGIUM rediscovered their most blistering form to batter Group E rivals Ireland 3-0 yesterday, thanks to a brace from Romelu Lukaku and an Axel Witsel header.
The victory of the world’s second-ranked team was in stark contrast to their limp defeat in their opening Euro 2016 match against Italy.
With Italy having beaten both the Belgians and Sweden to win the group, the victory puts Belgium in second place on three points with the Irish and Sweden stuck on a point apiece.
Coach Marc Wilmots made three changes to the Belgium line-up that struggled against Italy, and they immediately appeared more vibrant and cohesive.
Their speed and fluidity improved, with the introduction of Thomas Meunier and Yannick Carrasco giving them a menace out wide which had been missing in their opener.
De Bruyne kept his place despite a subdued showing against Italy and, vastly improved, he set the tone with a searing 13th-minute corner which Toby Alderweireld headed wide, before finding his range with a free kick.
Ireland were not without their own threat, as Meunier’s adventures down the right flank left space for Shane Long to exploit, although Martin O’Neill’s side ultimately failed to register a single shot on target during the entire 90 minutes.
Belgium began to dominate, with De Bruyne’s teasing delivery forcing a diving header from John O’Shea on 20 minutes, which inadvertently set up Eden Hazard to fire over.
Wes Hoolahan then cleared off the line as Alderweireld headed another fine De Bruyne corner goalwards.
As Irish resolve strengthened, Wilmots was again left pondering how to forge an effective attacking unit from the Golden Generation’s wealth of striking talent.
It took only three secondhalf minutes for an answer to emerge, as De Bruyne tore down the right before crossing for Lukaku, who opened his body and sent a curling leftfoot effort into the corner of the net.
The goal seemed to release the pressure on Belgium, who celebrated furiously with Wilmots in the corner while their supporters threw flares onto the pitch. Yet Ireland were justifiably left seething as Alderweireld’s penalty-box high foot on Long in the build-up went unpunished.
Witsel put the contest beyond the Irish 13 minutes later, arriving in the box to head the impressive Meunier’s cross beyond Randolph, whose outstretched hand could not quite divert the thumping effort wide.
In the 70th minute, Belgium added a third with the invention and panache that has long been expected from this talented squad. Meunier, again influential, dispossessed McClean and sent a long ball forward for Hazard down the right. The attacker, outrageously lapping the linesman on the outside, raced to meet the pass before crossing for Lukaku, who swept home as Belgium secured their biggest winning scoreline at a major international tournament in 46 years.
“As a team, we had to give a response to everybody who watched the game against Italy,” Hazard said. “The way we responded was good and we really deserved this victory.”
Ireland’s disappointment continued as their winless run at the European Championships was extended to seven games.
MARSEILLE: Iceland were within two minutes of their first victory at a major tournament when defender Birkir Saevarsson’s late own goal earned Hungary a battling 1-1 draw at Euro 2016 yesterday.
Gylfi Sigurdsson’s nerveless penalty just before half-time had looked set to lift Iceland top of the Group F standings, but Saevarsson turned in a cross by Hungarian substitute Nemanja Nikolic two minutes from the end of a match short on quality.
Hungary top the standings with four points, two ahead of Iceland and three clear of Portugal, who play bottom side Austria later. – Reuters