Croatia buries Belgium and Lukaku

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The number two in the world is having a hard time in the eighth finals and points to a rival from Spain. Roberto Martínez’s men fall with Eden as a substitute

One day it would happen. And it happened. Eden Hazard is now officially an active ex-footballer. He has been in Madrid for three and a half years as a residual player and since December 1, 2022 he has also been a residual player in his team. In the game where Belgium played to advance or not to the World Cup and thus avoid the end of one of the best generations in its history, the captain of the ‘red devils’ remained on the bench and played just three minutes, in a replacement with a symbolic charge even higher than the sporty one. Shame about the sad epilogue in the career of one of the best players in modern football. Farewell to Hazard and farewell to Belgium, the big disappointment of the tournament, on an afternoon in which the ranking was in the hands of Lukaku on several occasions. But the Belgian failed at everything that could fail, his face reflected frustration at not being able to lead his teammates to the round of 16 and he exploded even after the game was over when he smashed the glass wall where the players sit on his way to the changing rooms .

Courtois; Meunier (Hazard, 87), Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Castagne; Dendoncker (Tielemans, 72), Witsel, De Bruyne; Carrasco (Doku, 72), Trossard (T. Hazard, 58) and Mertens (Lukaku, 46)

Livakovic; Juranovic, Gvardiol, Lovren, Sosa; Brozovic, Modric, Kovacic; Livaja (Petkovic, 64), Perisic and Kramaric (Pasalic, 64)

Eden’s substitution was not the only novelty for Roberto Martínez against the Croats. The Catalan coach, who is ending his contract and will be leaving the Belgian bench amid surprise after eight years as owner, has given up his classic system of three defenders to play with four backs. The move is as legitimate as it is strange, a symptom of the doubts with which Belgium arrived in Qatar and the storm with which it left the first football World Cup in the Middle East.

The first half was very entertaining in the first fifteen minutes. Both sides came out free, looking for the goal that would give them the winning hand, but a controversial decision by the VAR destroyed the good intentions of Croatia and Belgium. Perisic, after 20 seconds, with a good shot, and Mertens, after a gallop ‘made in’ De Bruyne which he finished with a deflected shot, had the opportunity to open the scoring. And then came Carrasco’s no penalty.

At the penalty spot, the Belgian unnecessarily clumsily approached Kramaric, with the Croatian striker without ball control and with his back to goal. Taylor gave the eleven-meter signal, but four minutes later, and after a call from the VAR, he reversed his decision due to Lovren being offside. The blocky centre-back was in an illegal position with millimeters in the action prior to Carrasco’s foul and, although he did not touch the ball in the dispute with Vertonghen, VAR believed his influence on the jump with the Belgium centre-back was conditioned. the rest of the game, the game and therefore the penalty. Taylor’s interpretation, after seeing the images on the monitor, coincided with that of VAR, and there died the morbidity of seeing Modric take a penalty to Courtois and the merry play both teams had envisioned up to that point. The psychological effect of the fright was such that nothing happened from there until the break.

After the snack, Martínez opted for Lukaku and the change shocked Belgium, and also Croatia. A goal from the Central Europeans sent the runners-up home and got them. Speculating was not the best idea and Croatia must have thought so too, who tested Courtois three times in ten minutes with shots from Kovacic, Brozovic and Modric. On all three occasions, the Madrid goalkeeper spat out danger with his gloves. This Croatian mini-siege got a quick response from Lukaku, who crashed the ball into the woodwork (minute 60), in Belgium’s clearest opportunity.

In the last half hour the game was finally broken, although the arrivals near both teams were a loss and I can’t do that. Fatigue and dejection in the last pass, until a dramatic and agonizing final rush in which Lukaku had the qualifying goal twice. In minute 87 his shot on the balcony of the small area went past the bottom line and in minute 90 Lukaku was the clearest. Only in the small zone, to drag in a good cross from Thorgan Hazard, Romelu fired neither shot nor controlled. A hybrid that left the ball dead on its way to the goal line, but with snail speed, making it easier for Livakovic to catch the ball and seal the pass for Croatia, who will almost certainly be Spain’s quarter-final rivals.

Source: La Verdad

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