Belgium 1-0 Portugal
The Euro 2020 tie of the round, Sunday night in Seville with the best player in the world taking on the nation with arguably the best front three in international football right now (Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku and Kevin de Bruyne).
The reigning European champions against the nation ranked number one in the world and with their legacy firmly on the line.
A nation which has enjoyed more than 1,000 days on the top of the FIFA rankings but have yet to win a major tournament.
Euro 2020 highlights were seemingly a must.
Highlights of the game
As the team news arrived, Joao Palhinha and Manchester United’s Diogo Dalot were selected for their full international debuts, getting the nod ahead of Danilo and Nelson Semedo.
His United teammate Bruno Fernandes was again left on the bench.
Belgium’s team, meanwhile, contained few surprises with ex-Arsenal man Thomas Vermaelen selected as the third centre-back. Leicester City’s Youri Tielemans returned in midfield.
The holders could well have been ahead as early as the sixth minute.
Renato Sanches, who can count Swansea City and Bayern Munich amongst his clubs, found Diogo Jota who was able to take a touch but could only shoot wide of the far post. Then Thibaut Courtois was alert to block a free-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.
Portugal had a slight edge as both nations probed for an opening and tested each other but just when the half seemed destined to end goalless, Belgium produced the decisive moment.
If you are Belgian, it was a moment of magic. If you hailed from Portugal, it was an avoidable error.
There was no doubting Thorgan Hazard’s dipping and powerful shot from the edge of the box swerved spectacularly but it’s arguable that goalkeeper Rui Patricio, possibly slightly unsighted, should have been able to force it away.
It was to prove their only shot on target in the contest.
If the goal that separated the sides gave Belgium an advantage, they suffered a blow moments after the restart as de Bruyne had to leave the fray following a Palhinha challenge.
Portugal, who had qualified for the knockout stages of the European Championship in third place for the second tournament in a row (they went onto win Euro 2016), responded by bringing on Joao Felix and Fernandes but it was Jota who again had the best sniff of goal, firing over the bar after a one-two with Ronaldo.
As the game entered its closing stages, tensions grew, tempers became a little frayed and Portugal probed and pressed as Belgian stood firm.
Ruben Dias headed towards goal only for Courtois to parry and they were denied a deserved equaliser when a Raphael Guerreiro volley cannoned off the base of the post.
Felix then scuffed his shot wide in the final minute of stoppage time.
The sight of Eden Hazard being hauled off with a suspected hamstring injury in the final moments will be a further worry for boss Roberto Martinez whose players will need to improve to progress further.
But the main thing was the result, built on a resilient defence.
Portugal’s near five year-reign as the European champions is over. Now can Belgium fulfil their promise as Ronaldo and Co did before them?
Key Statistics
Portugal recorded 23 shots in this match, the highest tally for a team in a game in Euro 2020 without scoring.
This was the first meeting between Belgium and Portugal at a major tournament.
Until tonight, Portugal had been unbeaten in their past five matches against Belgium in all competitions since a 3-0 defeat in World Cup qualifying in September 1989.
Belgium have only failed to score in two of their last 59 games under Roberto Martinez.
Thorgan Hazard is the first-ever Belgian to score in consecutive European Championship appearances. This was also the first time he has netted in consecutive games for his country.
What’s next?
A mouth-watering quarter-final tie against Italy awaits in Munich on Friday night.
Study the SBOTOP Euro 2020 betting odds before placing your bets.
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