Belgium thrashed Poland (1-6) on the second day of the League of Nationswith Kevin de Bruyne and Eden Hazard masterfully directing the Red Devils, who came back from a goal by Robert Lewandoswki, had their fill of goals and recovered their good feelings after the recent corrective action by the Netherlands.
Beyond the result, which places Belgium second in the Nations League group, after the defeat of Wales by 1-2 against the Netherlands, Roberto Marínez’s men were able to celebrate the return to their best level of their captain, EdenHazard.
After a long period hampered by injuries, and after playing just 45 inglorious minutes last Friday in the 1-4 loss against the Netherlands, the Real Madrid striker had a great game against Poland, including assists, until who was substituted for Leandro Trossard in the 66th minute.
Belgium, with four changes compared to the eleven against the Netherlands (Boyata, Meunier, Vanaken and Lukaku, the latter due to injury) and their classic 3-4-3, began playing against Poland with a dynamic and offensive approach, with Hazard and De Bruyne leaving class details and Michy Batshuayi disturbing the Slavic area.
But half an hour into the game, without the Poland of coach Czeslaw Michniewicz proposed a great deal, Lewandowski appeared, who invented an acrobatic trick to control a ball in the area, shot Simon Mignolet’s goal and showed why he is one of the forwards with the most sense of smell in the world.
A jug of cold water for the Belgian team led by Roberto Martínez, criticized in recent days in the local press for the landslide conceded on Friday in Brussels against Louis Van Gaal’s “Orange” in the local derby.
But the Red Devils did not break down and kept looking for quick transitions treating the ball well in midfield, until they found the goal.
He arrived just before the break, thanks to a pass from Carrasco to De Bruyne, whose shot was deflected by goalkeeper Dragowski. Castagne recovers for the Belgians and gives in to Witsel, who strikes from a distance on the run and signs a beautiful goal with which the Red Devils began to get rid of the ghosts.
In the second part, Poland tried to look for more depth, taking advantage of the quality of Lewandowski. But Belgium did not relinquish the baton of command and continued to search for the Polish goal, forcing Fiorentina goalkeeper Dragowski to do his best.
The electronic marked the 59th minute when a combination between Hazard and De Bruyne allowed the Manchester City midfielder to score the comeback 2-1, completely banishing the ghosts and beginning to enjoy the game without pressure.
The Belgian game became more cheerful and the chances multiplied. Hazard or Dendoncker could have scored, but it made it 3-1 thanks to the pressure from above by Batshuayi, who recovered a ball on the edge of the box and served it to Trossard, who scored as soon as he came on to replace Hazard in the 66th minute.
Then Belgium finally let go and Polandwithout Lewandowski on the field since the 69th minute, gave up his weapons, and the duel turned into a goalsfest.
Trossard himself made it 4-1, in what seemed like a cross that fortuitously found the rival squad, Leander Dendoncker put the fifth on the scoreboard with a shot from outside the area adjusted to the left post, which was his first international goal, and Lois Openda also made her debut as an international scorer with the final 6-1 in the 93rd minute.
