Cristiano Ronaldo tore the captain’s armband from his arm and threw it on the lawn before Romelu Lukaku took the superstar comfortingly in his arms. Belgium’s Red Devils celebrated a 1-0 (1-0) victory over Portugal in the round of 16 in Seville on Sunday – and destroyed Portugal’s dreams of defending their title. With a spectacular long-range shot, Dortmund’s Thorgan Hazard was the goalscorer of the day (42nd minute) in front of 11,504 spectators at the Estadio La Cartuja. The team of head coach Roberto Martínez will play against Italy on Friday in Munich for the semi-finals.
“We won against the European champions, that’s very nice,” said the beaming scorer Hazard in an interview with ARD. “The second half today was very difficult. We had to walk a lot. “
Before the quarter-finals, Belgium have to worry about director Kevin De Bruyne, who left the pitch two minutes after the break with an ankle injury. The man from Manchester City was back on the congratulatory tour after the final whistle. With the last of their strength, his colleagues jumped over the advertising boards and let their fans celebrate.
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The Seleção had previously reached at least the quarter-finals in all of their European Championship participations. Only Spain have successfully defended their title so far. The 36-year-old Ronaldo was rarely able to help his team against the FIFA world number one after five goals in the group matches. Even for his 66-year-old coach Fernando Santos, the EM ended in disappointment.
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 quick pass from the strong Renato Sanches to Diogo Jota immediately caused danger, but the Liverpool professional finished hastily (6.)
After 25 minutes, Ronaldo got into his free-kick position with his legs apart 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.
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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.
The Belgians had to rearrange after De Bruyne’s failure. 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. (dpa)
