Belgium 1-0 Russia: Red Devils into knockout round
A narrow 1-0 win over Russia secured Belgium the first ticket from Group H to the knockout stages. Another unconvincing performance from Belgium, but it also showed the Red Devils' hidden strength...
 |
| Origi helps Belgium overcome Russia at the last minute |
GOAL
Belgium:Divock Origi (88')
After scoring in Belgium's opening match to help them beat Algeria 2-1, midfielders Marouane Fellaini and Dries Mertens were brought into the starting lineup by coach Marc Wilmots. Those changes created a fresh breeze in Belgium's playing style in the opening minutes of the match. Instead of relying on Eden Hazard's magical moves on the left wing, Belgium's main attacks took place on the right wing with Mertens' speed and aggression.
In many of Belgium's attacking situations, Mertens was the trigger with his smart runs. However, the Napoli player's final touches were inaccurate, preventing Belgium from being able to make their chances concrete.
In contrast, Russia actively played solidly in their home field but also had sharp counterattacks. In fact, Russia was the team that had the clearer opportunities. In the 13th minute, Faizuli turned and shot dangerously right in front of the penalty area, forcing goalkeeper Courtois to show his talent to block. One minute before the end of the first half, Kokorin missed a delicious opportunity when he comfortably headed the ball from 7 meters away, narrowly missing the post.
Although they were not successful in the first half, the opportunities they had helped Russia play more confidently in the second half. The Bears even dominated the game and created many opportunities in about 2/3 of the second half. In addition to powerful long shots, Russia also chose high balls to approach the goal. But like the first half, Russia failed to take advantage of good opportunities to score, including Eshchenko's shot that went just wide of the post in the 81st minute.
 |
Eshchenko will certainly regret that missed opportunity because the Red Devils fought back strongly. In the 84th minute, substitute Kevin Mirallas had a delicate free kick that hit the post and bounced out. It was also after this situation that the most anticipated star in the Belgian shirt, Eden Hazard, spoke up. First, he made the Russian goal wobble with a dribble and shot that missed the post in the penalty area. In the 88th minute, it was Hazard again with a dribble down the armpit and then passed to Divock Origi to finish into the roof of the Russian net to open the score 1-0.
The late but timely goal helped Belgium take all 3 points against Russia to continue their winning streak after 2 matches. With 6 points, Belgium has secured a ticket to the next round in Group H. Meanwhile, for Russia, their door to the next round has narrowed and they will lose the right to decide if Korea gets at least 1 point in the late match against Algeria.
LINEUP
Belgium:Courtois; Alderweireld, Van Buyten, Kompany, Vermaelen (Verthongen 31'); Witsel, Fellaini; Mertens (Mirallas 75'), De Bruyne, Hazard; Lukaku (Origi 57').
Russia:Akinfeev; Kozlov (Eshchenko 62'), Berezutskiy, Ignashevich, Kombarov; Glushakov, Fayzulin; Samedov (Kerzhakov 89'), Kanunnikov, Shatov (Dzagoev 83'); Kokorin.
