Hazard hones World Cup form in win
PHARAOHS GO DOWN WITHOUT STAR PLAYER SALAH AS PANAMA SUFFER SHOCK LOSS
Eden Hazard scored once and assisted on another goal in a 3-0 pre-World Cup friendly win over Egypt on Wednesday that gave worried Belgium fans hope of a promising World Cup campaign.
Drawn in Group G containing England, Tunisia and tournament debutants Panama, Belgium are expected to cruise into the second round of the June 14-July 15 showpiece.
However embattled coach Roberto Martinez has yet to win over fans, and is sweating over the fitness of key defenders Thomas Vermaelen (thigh injury) and Vincent Kompany (groin injury).
Facing an Egypt side shorn of Liverpool star Mohammad Salah, recovering from a shoulder injury suffered in a 3-1 Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid, Belgium were given a chance to patch over some recent difficulties during their preparation period.
Belgium struggled to a scoreless draw last week against a Portugal side missing striker Cristiano Ronaldo and Martinez, who has sidelined Roma star Radja Nainggolan, has faced plenty of criticism in the Belgian media. Missing Salah, Europe’s Golden Boot winner last season, Egypt’s goalscoring chances were automatically decimated.
Encouraging show
But even a characteristically strong defensive display by the Pharaohs wasn’t enough to contain Hazard, who played only the opening half, and the visitors at times appeared well below par.
A superb ball from the Chelsea midfield star found Romelu Lukaku in space on 27 minutes and the Manchester United striker promptly scored his 34th goal for the national side.
Seven minutes before the interval Yannick Carrasco turned provider for Hazard to hit his 22nd goal for Belgium in 80 appearances.
In the final seconds another Premier League player, Manchester United forward Marouane Fellaini, hit Belgium’s third to cap what was a far more encouraging performance from Belgium.
Panama saw their hopes of a morale-boosting pre-tournament win crumble after just four minutes in a 1-0 defeat to Norway. But Hernan Dario Gomez’s men will be hoping for an upturn in fortunes after this latest setback ahead of the June 14-July 15 showpiece.
At the Ulleval stadium in Oslo, Norway, who are not qualified for the World Cup, took a fourth-minute through Joshua King. Worryingly for Panama, the visitors struggled to create scoring chances, compounding a pre-World Cup preparation that has produced draws with Wales (1-1) and Northern Ireland (0-0) and defeats to Iran (2-1), Denmark (1-0) and Switzerland (6-0).