Belgium wakes up in 2nd half, rolls past Panama
SOCHI, Russia — Dries Mertens’ perfectly struck volley finally opened up Panama and allowed Romelu Lukaku to take full advantage.
Lukaku scored two goals in a six-minute span in the second half as Belgium earned a 3-0 victory over Panama in its World Cup opener on Monday.
Saddled with massive expectations and a lineup of talent the envy of other teams in the tournament, Belgium finally showed flashes of being the dominant team worthy of title consideration.
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.
Belgium is now unbeaten in its last six World Cup openers, dating back to 1986.
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 such as Panama President Juan Carlos Varela Rodriguez and baseball star Mariano Rivera were in attendance. They would have preferred something a little less challenging than one of the pre-tournament favorites.
Sweden 1, South Korea 0
NIZHNY NOVGOROD, Russia — 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 1-0 victory over South Korea on Monday at the World Cup.
“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 originally had 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 also have benefited 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, and 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 threeman 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.