Russia 3-3 Belgium
Betting odds and bookmakers had Belgium on lock to win this friendly against the unassuming Russians. With the number of superb players proudly donning the Belgian colours on their chest, it was a no-brainer for the neutral to naturally root for the Red Devils to dominate the Red Army.
Football games have a knack of going against the grain and finish with scores that sometimes defy logic, however. The Russians defied the various betting picks made against them and made the Sochi crowd proud with their fantastic second-half comeback.
It was the hosts who actually struck first: Belgium defended an early free kick poorly, ending in a straight-on shot for Viktor Vasin. Simon Mignolet could do nothing but watch as the Russians took the 1-0 lead.
Roberto Martinez’s lads then upped the attack with various attempts on goal. They soon got an opportunity to equalise after 17 minutes, thanks to a questionable dive by Christian Benteke. Kevin Mirallas took the penalty for the Red Devils. Igor Akinfeev guessed the direction right but the ball went under him.
Benteke soon headed in two goals to end the half with the Belgians leading by two goals. The second half wasn’t looking any better for Stanislav Cherchesov when Dries Mertens and Axel Witsel came in. However, a fine through pass on open play resulted in Russian sub Aleksey Miranchuk facing off against the Liverpool keeper. He beat Mignolet and cut Belgium’s lead to one.
Both sides were then embroiled in an attacking battle as Yannick Carrasco, Thorgan Hazard and Romelu Lukaku did all they could to end the friendly with a win for the Belgians. However, Alexander Bukharov’s persistence in front of goal since coming in the pitch on the 46th minute ended the game in a very entertaining 3-3 draw.
The result emphasised two things to everyone in the footballing world: Belgium badly need their star players, and Russia will not be put down easily once the World Cup begins. We can look forward to more exciting games from the Russians, while the Belgians will have to make adjustments whenever their stars are out of the squad.
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