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De Bruyne is on the ground and has to be replaced later
Photo:
Marcelo Del Pozo - Pool / Getty Images
Always on Kevin:
Belgium superstar Kevin De Bruyne has just returned after a facial injury sustained in the Champions League final. And already the Belgian national team looked like the title favorite again that it would like to be. Until shortly before the break, Portugal's João Palhinha only saw De Bruyne's rear view on a Belgian counterattack and kicked him in the legs from behind. De Bruyne remained lying on the grass with his face contorted with pain, referee Felix Brych probably just didn't show a red card because the attack continued and Brych decided to take advantage. After the break, De Bruyne tried again but had to leave.
The result:
Belgium took the lead with De Bruyne through Thorgan Hazard (42nd minute).
Without De Bruyne Belgium bricked up against defending champion Portugal the victory and the quarter-finals.
Click here for the match report.
Old warriors:
Belgium's national team has been considered the golden generation for years.
That it is also a gray generation, so to speak, was shown on Sunday evening against Portugal: In the central defense, Toby Alderweireld, 32 years old, Thomas Vermaelen, 35, and Vertonghen, 34, three players, for whom it was probably the last European championship .
But at least they also defended against 36-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo.
First half:
It says something about a game between two European Championship favorites when the two most dangerous actions of the first half were initiated by a right-back who was considered a phenomenal flop by many at Borussia Dortmund last year. We are talking about Thomas Meunier, who discovered Luka Modrić in the 37th minute, pulled from the right wing into the middle and narrowly missed the left corner from the edge of the penalty area with his right outer instep. Five minutes later, Meunier moved from a similar position to the left to his Dortmund team-mate Thorgan Hazard, who pulled into the middle and was more successful by force. The flutter ball fluttered past Portugal's somewhat disoriented keeper Rui Patrício - the lead for Belgium.
Fullback: The
fact that the Portuguese have a certain susceptibility to attacking defenders of their opponents at this European Championship should come as no surprise after the Germany game. But in fact Hazard revealed so much space with his goal because both wing defenders attacked in the Belgian 3-4-3 and presented the Portuguese defense with fairly large allocation problems.
Second half:
At this point you could list the names of the extremely talented players from both teams and express a sheer lack of understanding of how football was played in the second half. The game consisted of nothing more than flying balls to Cristiano Ronaldo, who fought one header after another with the Belgian central defenders, and deeply defending Belgians, whose only offensive hopes were based on solo attempts by Romelu Lukaku. Portuguese chances came late, Raphaël Guerreiro missed the best chance with a post, substitute André Silva also failed to goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
What must, must:
In the final phase, the game became heated and threatened to slip away from referee Brych. This was partly due to Portugal's defender Pepe, who was able to concentrate fully on his core competency as a bully. Eden Hazard - once much better, still more talented, but now often injured brother of Thorgan - was struck down by Pepe with a body check in the 76th minute. The yellow card made the central defender laugh, somehow one cannot imagine that the 38-year-old will soon no longer be part of international football.
And now?
Belgium will meet Italy in the quarter-finals on July 2 (9 p.m.) in Munich. On the way to the final, the Belgians would also have to beat world champions France. That would require a Kevin De Bruyne in top form, it is still unclear whether and how long he will be out. Belgium's “staying a little longer” on Twitter at least gives hope.
