Belgium will face Wales in the quarter-finals of Euro 2016 after a world-class Eden Hazard performance inspired them to a 4-0 victory over Hungary. Marc Wilmots’ side took the lead after just 9 minutes when a Kevin De Bruyne free-kick was turned in by Toby Alderweireld amidst some ordinary Hungarian marking.
They doubled their lead in the 78th minute as substitute Michy Batshuayi tapped in from 6 yards from a quality low cross by Hazard. The latter then wowed the spectators two minutes later, as he cut inside beautifully from the left with his fleet-footedness that fans had been craving to watch for a majority of the season. He promptly found the space at the edge of the Hungarian penalty area to get a shot away and beat Hungarian keeper Kiraly at the low corner.
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Substitute Yannick Carrasco applied the gloss to a magnificent team effort as he latched on to Radja Nainggolan’s pass and finished the move off with an accurate strike inside the near post.
Here are some of the talking points of an exciting, yet one-sided game:-
1) A breathless first half
Till this game had kicked off, it had been a relatively soporific Round of 16 over the past couple of days. Games were either boring or were one-sided. The tournament needed this sort of tie to make fans take notice and convince them that these were two teams going for the win rather than ensuring they would not lose. Both sides were adventurous and created many meaningful goal-scoring opportunities.
Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard were the chance-creators for Belgium, while Hungary relied on skipper Balazs Dzsudzsak, Gergo Lovrencsics and Adam Szalai to pour forward and put the Belgian defence under pressure. It was 45 minutes worth staying up late into the night and witnessing a battle of equals.
2) Gabor Kiraly, a Hungarian stalwart at the age of 40
It’s not often that a 40-year-old gets the plaudits for displaying athleticism on the field. But for Hungarian goalkeeper Gabor Kiraly, it was a game which – if it indeed is his last one for Hungary – will go down as one of his most memorable in an illustrious career and the perfect way to bow out of the international stage.
He was impenetrable in the first half, diving left and right to deal with the wave of shots being fired by the Belgian attack. His magnificent one-handed save to tip a delightful Kevin De Bruyne free-kick onto the crossbar was the highlight of the game.
The final score by no means reflects Kiraly’s actual display in between the sticks. With 10 saves in total, he may bow out of international football a distinguished Hungarian hero.
3) Eden Hazard, the rejuvenated magician
This tournament – season rather – was crying out loud for the Belgian captain Eden Hazard to respond to his critics over a disappointing campaign and inspire his nation to a match-winning performance against a dangerous Hungarian side.
On Sunday, his response to his disparagers was absolutely perfect as he delivered a performance worthy of recalling the Eden Hazard who had lit up the Premier League in Chelsea’s title-winning season in 2014-15.
His dangerous approaches into the penalty area from the left and across the byline when he was pushed wide were making fullback Adam Lang sweat right from kick-off till the former was substituted.
His dribbling and the ease with which he skipped past individuals was so pleasing to the eye that one wouldn’t have wanted the Hazard show to end. His wonderful solo-goal to put Belgium 3 goals up was the cherry on the cake. It was a world-class performance, one which should make Chris Coleman and Wales afraid, very afraid.
4) Michy Batshuayi does the super-sub job perfectly
Despite Belgium’s innumerable attempts at goal, their lack of finishing touch was frustrating for manager Marc Wilmots, who was wary of Hungary’s threat on the break. The failure to find that elusive second goal to give them some breathing space meant that Wilmots had to make an attacking switch.
He hauled off Romelu Lukaku – who missed a couple of great opportunities in the first half – and replaced him with young Marseille forward Michy Batshuayi. The move took barely seconds to work, as a low Eden Hazard cross was whipped across the defence and tapped in by Batshuayi to give Belgium that two-goal cushion. Game over.
5) Hungary tried their best but were luckless upfront
From Hungary’s point of view, the full-time score of 4-0 was harsh on an evidently competitive display in Toulouse. They kept their heads up despite conceding that early goal (which could easily have been avoided but for some poor marking) and committed bodies forward to test the Belgian defence.
Adam Szalai was constantly denied by some excellent keeping by Thibaut Courtois, while winger Gergo Lovrencsics was a busy figure trying to break down a stubborn Belgian defence with his trickery on the ball. They were finally dumped out of the contest after 80 minutes thanks to some individual brilliance from Eden Hazard.
They must get some credit for daring to have a go at Belgium’s goal and attempting to make a comeback into the game. In the end, it was a heavy but proud defeat.
