Belgium is in the EM quarter-finals. The co-favorite prevails against defending champions Portugal. In the duel of the superstars, both get nothing.
What was not discussed about the two super strikers Romelu Lukaku (three tournament goals) and Cristiano Ronaldo (five tournament goals) before the knockout round of 16 between Belgium and Portugal. But the decisive player in the narrow 1-0 win for the Belgians is a completely different one: Dortmund star Thorgan Hazard.
Not a regular player at BVB, an important player in the Belgian national team and even double goalscorer at the European Championships. His goal against Denmark (2-1) is followed by a dream goal against Portugal. Via Meunier, the ball lands on the left corner of the penalty area at Hazard, who hits the far corner from 20 meters (42.). Portugal goalkeeper Rui Patricio has no chance to defend himself.
With this flick, Belgium reached the quarter-finals, where it met Italy on Friday (9 p.m. in the t-online live ticker). The favorite, however, has to worry about Kevin De Bruyne. He has to go down against Portugal after 48 minutes due to injury. It is still completely unclear whether he can play against Italy.
And so the game went
Seville’s picturesque city center was bathed in red during the day by the many Portuguese and Belgian fans. The two teams had never before played against each other in the finals of a major tournament. Belgium’s coach Martínez had a very special premiere: the native Catalan had never played a competitive game in Spain as a coach. In Belgium’s midfield, Thorgan Hazard was allowed to play again from the start this time, alongside his Dortmund club colleague Axel Witsel.
Portugal started very cautiously and seemed to be on the counterattack at just under 30 degrees. A very quick pass from the strong Renato Sanches to Diogo Jota immediately caused danger, but the Liverpool professional finished hastily (6.) After 25 minutes, Ronaldo moved into his wide-legged free-kick position for the first time. Thibaut Courtois was able to fend off the ball from around 20 meters. The Belgium goalkeeper later earned applause from his fans when he let out Portugal’s captain. Just no unnecessary risk – that was still the motto.
Martinez had emphasized before the game that a lot depends on who scores the first goal. Dortmund’s veteran Thomas Meunier almost managed to do that with a flick of the outside instep (37th). Thorgan Hazard showed even better shooting art with his opening goal when he pulled from 20 meters and the trajectory stunned Portugal’s poorly positioned goalkeeper Rui Patricio (42nd). The Belgians had to rearrange the Belgians after De Bruyne’s failure.
Heated final phase
In the 58th minute, Ronaldo suddenly shone as an energetic and precise preparer for Jota, who didn’t hit the goal again. In the intense final phase, the Munich referee Felix Brych had a lot of trouble calming the heated minds on both sides.
BVB professional Raphael Guerrero hit the post for Ronaldo’s desperate team. The five-time “World Footballer of the Year” also missed the sole world record. After 179 international matches, the Juventus attacker is still at 109 goals – like Iranian Ali Daei (52).
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