Belgium 3-0 Egypt
It was Belgium’s night at the King Baudouin Stadium in their penultimate warm-up before heading to World Cup 2018.
First half goals from Premier League stars Romelu Lukaku and Eden Hazard, and a late strike from Marouane Fellaini, put Egypt to the sword, in a performance that gave boss Roberto Martinez much to be happy about as his team dominated from start to finish.
And on this showing I wouldn’t rule out Belgium as a potential winner at the FIFA 2018 showcase.
Highlights
In a hectic opening Tarek Hamed went into the referee’s book, after having a crack at Belgium’s mercurial Eden Hazard, in the very first minute. And Hector Cuper’s men’s early intentions were pretty clear as Ahmed Fathy also saw yellow for a bad foul on Yannick Carrasco, before the game was ten minutes old.
But, in an entertaining first half, it was Arsenal midfielder Mohamed Elneny who was first to get a shot away as Egypt launched an attack, but his effort from distance was blocked. Then, on 15 minutes Napoli’s Dries Mertens took a pass from Hazard and brought a good save as his shot arrowed towards the top corner. Hazard then had his own effort blocked and, as Belgium cranked up the pressure Thomas Meunier had a good try on goal.
The Red Devils had put out a strong side, including Kevin De Bruyne, and Manchester United’s Romelu Lukaku came very close on 21 minutes, just diverting a cross from Mertens wide of the right hand post. Having weathered the storm the Pharaohs then had an effort of their own, Marwan Mohsen heading wide from a Mohamed Shafy cross.
But Egypt’s respite was short lived when Lukaku got his goal soon after, firing home from close range on 27 minutes. And that sparked another flurry of pressure with Hazard and Mertens again trying their luck before the Chelsea forward made it two, collecting a ball from Carrasco to slot coolly home.
2-0 at half time was a fair reflection and Egypt looked short of ideas up front. Cuper will be desperate to have the injured Mo Salah back soon and that would be the biggest World Cup 2018 news for Egypt and Liverpool fans alike.
Roberto Martinez rang the changes at half time, bringing on Nacer Chadli, Michy Batshuayi and Adnan Januzaj to replace Mertens, Lukaku and Hazard, but the second half looked to be going the same way as the first, as the hosts opened with an early flurry of corners. Egypt survived the early pressure and, on 58 minutes, Trezeguet finally brought a save from Thibaut Courtois with his team’s first effort on target. And then Meunier came close again for Belgium, firing narrowly high and wide.
Mo Elneny was the third Pharaoh to go into the book for a foul on Jan Vertonghen, but the game began to calm down to its natural conclusion as Belgium ran out comfortable winners.
Kevin De Bruyne had a shot saved, as the clock ran down, and Batshuayi came close before Januzaj had a shot from distance comfortably saved. And as Egypt awaited the final whistle Fellaini hammered home the third deep into injury time.
Key Statistics
That’s 18 games unbeaten for the Red Devils now, and they got back to winning ways after a goalless draw with Portugal, but it’s five defeats away from home in the last seven for Cuper’s men, and it brings the head-to-head with Belgium level at 1-1.
In a first half dominated by the hosts, they had 11 shots to Egypt’s three, and tellingly five to nil were on target. By the end of the game the stats told the whole story, with 58 per cent possession and nine shots to one on target there was only going to be one winner. And almost 88 per cent pass completion will have made Martinez smile.
What’s next?
Before Belgium heads to Russia they entertain Costa Rica on Monday after the Tico’s game with England. Then their World Cup group pits the Red Devils against Panama, Tunisia and a potential decider with the Three Lions. Jose Mourinho has tipped England to win Group G, but that looks like a cheeky dig at Martinez to me.
The Pharaohs have completed all their preparations now and can throw themselves into Group A where they have a real chance to progress by overcoming host Russia and Saudi Arabia, and maybe even Uruguay who they meet first up. But they do need Mo Salah, otherwise the SBOBET tips will be looking elsewhere!
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