Belgium crept into the European Championship quarter finals and, in doing so, ended Portugal’s defence of their crown, but you have to wonder at what cost. A golden generation of players are now within three games of ending their search for international glory but, if they are to triumph at Wembley in a fortnight’s time, they may have to do so without Kevin De Bruyne, and possibly even Eden Hazard, two thirds of their holy trinity with Romelu Lukaku.
De Bruyne was forced off three minutes into the second half after sustaining an ankle injury shortly before half-time and, while the Manchester City midfielder proved the most vocal of cheerleaders from the sidelines as Portugal were just about kept at bay, whether it is a role he is now reduced to for the remainder of this tournament remains to be seen.
Italy will certainly hope De Bruyne is missing for their quarter-final in Munich on Friday. To add to Belgium’s concerns, Eden Hazard – whose previous outing against Finland was the first time in 19 months he had completed 90 minutes – was substituted late on in considerable discomfort and now also requires urgent assessment.
The Real Madrid forward was upstaged on the night by his brother, Thorgan Hazard, who dispatched Belgium’s only shot on target in the game beyond Rui Patricio, but later admitted he was most concerned about his sibling’s fitness, and that of De Bruyne.
“I hope it’s not a big injury but it looked not so good,” the Borussia Dortmund player said. “The medical staff is very good in Belgium so we hope everything will be ok for the test of the tournament, also Kevin because we need these two players to go forward.”
Cristiano Ronaldo and holders Portugal’s Euros are most certainly over, though. They looked the more likely scorers in a second half, with a tense game finally coming to life in the closing stages, but could ultimately find no reply to Thorgan Hazard’s 42nd minute strike.
It was not the defence of their European title they would have hoped for and Ronaldo must wait a little longer for the goal that would make him the outright all time leading scorer in men’s international football.
Given the array of attacking talent on show, there was hope of a feast of attacking football but, by the end, it was Belgium’s defence – for many, this team’s Achilles heel and the biggest source of concern coming into the tournament – that deserved the acclaim. Thomas Vermaelen, the 35-year-old former Arsenal defender now plying his trade in Japan, rolled back the years with an imposing display alongside two other veterans, Toby Alderweireld (32) and Jan Vertonghen (34), who combined to frustrate Ronaldo and Portugal. Ahead of them, Axel Witsel helped underpin the midfield.
“There were a lot of questions marks and worries about the centre halves before the tournament but I never had those worries,” Roberto Martinez, the Belgium coach, said. “What you saw today were years of commitment, of giving everything, the talent they have to make the duty of defending an art. It’s a game that should be shown in the academies of Belgium about how to defend. We showed character we maybe couldn’t have before. The second half showed an aspect I don’t think would have been there two or three years ago.”
Arguably the pick of the last 16 ties was heading towards a dreary, anticlimactic goalless first half before Belgium made the decisive breakthrough. Lukaku had made one of those trademark powerful runs down the inside left channel, held the ball up and then sought to lay it off to De Bruyne. The pass was intercepted but Belgium had committed so many bodies forward that when the ball broke loose Thomas Meunier was in a position to collect it and square it quickly to Thorgan Hazard. The space had opened up to shoot and, for a split second, Hazard’s shot looked like it was heading left and Patricio took a step to his right in anticipation of that. But as he did so, the ball swerved violently the other way and the Portugal goalkeeper was unable to recover his position.
Belgium, in truth, were not smiling for too long. Moments before the interval, De Bruyne was hacked from behind by Joao Palhinha, his ankle twisting in the process. It looked a painful one and so it would prove. De Bruyne reappeared for the second half but lasted just three minutes before being replaced by Dries Mertens, his race run. A month since the Manchester City midfielder was forced off in the Champions League final against Chelsea with a fractured eye-socket and nose, here he was again being forced to trudge off in a huge game, his disappointment etched large on his face. Belgium are much weaker without him and Martinez’s worries will have deepened late on when Hazard also came off. They will hope it was just cramp or fatigue and not a hamstring or muscle injury.
Perhaps the game would have become far more open and expansive had Diego Jota, whose shooting boots deserved him all night until his withdrawal, not yanked a shot across goal in the sixth minute after good work from Renato Sanches. But both sides seemed petrified of leaving themselves exposed at the back and what followed was a cagey, niggly affair with space at a relative premium and clear cut chances fairly thin on the ground.
Fernando Santos, the Portugal coach, did not wait too long before making changes in a bid to find that equaliser. Joao Felix and Bruno Fernandes were introduced in the 56th minute and it brought an upturn but Belgium were dogmatic and organised, Vermaelen marshalling the back line superbly.
Ronaldo, who had one free-kick in the first half beaten away by Thibaut Courtois, teed up Jota for an inviting chance shortly before the hour mark but perhaps Portugal’s misfortune was that their best chances late in the game did not fall to their goal machine. Courtois punched away a bullet header from Ruben Dias from Fernandes’s corner that – a yard either side – would probably have found the net and Raphael Guerreiro hit a post with a snap shot soon after. The tension was palpable, and at times emotions looked like they could get the better of one or two. Pepe – who had angrily clashed with Lukaku earlier in the half – was booked for a crude, late challenge on Thorgan Hazard.
Belgium clung on but Santos felt the best team lost and admitted there were tears shed in the Portugal dressing room. “I think it’s unfair but this is football – we didn’t win but we deserved to,” he said. “We’re very disappointed. All of us thought we could reach the final and win like 2016. Some of my lads are crying in the dressing room but that’s to be expected.”
09:18 PM
As Mark Pougatch points out
Belgium v Italy is Martinez v Mancini, like the Wigan-Manchester City FA Cup final of 2013 …
09:17 PM
Roy Keane on Joao Felix
09:03 PM
Opta’s post-match stats pack
● This was Belgium’s first win against Portugal since September 1989 (3-0 in a World Cup qualifier), ending a run of five meetings without a victory against them (D2 L3).
● Portugal were eliminated from EURO 2020 with just one victory from their four games (D1 L2); their fewest in a single tournament at the European Championships since their first appearance in 1984, when they also won one of four (D2 L1).
● Belgium have equalled their longest winning streak at major tournaments, winning five in a row for the second time (both under Roberto Martínez). Indeed, the Red Devils have won 10 of their 11 games across the World Cup and European Championships since Martínez took charge.
● Since EURO 2004, Portugal have only come back to win in one of their 10 games in the competition when they have conceded the opening goal (D3 L6) – 2-1 v Netherlands at EURO 2012.
● Belgium have scored six goals from outside the box in the last two European Championships (2016 & 2020); at least twice as many as any other team in this period. Thorgan Hazard was the fifth different Belgian player to score from outside the box in the competition since 2016, along with Radja Nainggolan (2), Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Eden Hazard.
● Thorgan Hazard has netted in consecutive games for Belgium for the first time, while he has now scored four international goals since his brother Eden last scored for the national team.
● Only Cristiano Ronaldo (25) has now made more appearances in the European Championships than João Moutinho and Pepe (both 19), meaning the top three appearance makers in the competition’s history all started for Portugal in this game.
● Belgium’s starting XI against Portugal had an average age of 30 years and 148 days; their oldest in a game at the European Championships, and the oldest named by any of the remaining teams at EURO 2020 so far.
08:57 PM
Belgium play Italy in last 8
They will meet in Munich on Friday.
08:56 PM
Full time
Belgium are in the quarter-finals. Portugal, the champions, are out. Very tight game but a compelling second half.
08:55 PM
90+4 min BEL 1 POR 0
All Portugal probing but slight desperation means they try to force it too often with the clock running against them. Joao Felix plays a one-two with Andre Silva to the left of the D but hooks his right-foot shot from 18 yards wide. It sat up awkwardly.
08:53 PM
90+2 min BEL 1 POR 0
The second of five added minutes ends with Bruno Fernandes flaying a garbage shot over the bar with Joao Felix and Ronaldo wanting the ball ahead of him.
08:52 PM
90+1 min BEL 1 POR 0
Lukaku goes on a brilliant run upfield, driving through the heart of the Portugal defence but he and Carrasco can’t ultimately beat the wonderful Ruben Dias.
08:50 PM
89 min BEL 1 POR 0
Oh, Andre Silva! No Andre Silva. Meunier heads away his menacing cross superbly but the ball comes back in from the other side, Ronaldo glances it to the back post and Andre Silva at full stretch pokes a shot that Courtois saves at point-blank range.
08:48 PM
88 min BEL 1 POR 0
Having already lost KdB to what looks like a tournament ending injury, Eden Hazard limps off clutching his hamstring. Yannick Carrasco replaces him.
08:47 PM
87 min BEL 1 POR 0
Ronaldo’s shot hits Vermaelen’s block and flies behind for a corner that Bruno Fernandes takes and whips through the six-yard box before Belgium hustle it away.
08:46 PM
86 min BEL 1 POR 0
… and blazes over the bar from 25 yards.
08:45 PM
85 min BEL 1 POR 0
Guerreiro hits the foot of the left post with Courtois beaten. Ronaldo was up against Vermaelen and Alderweireld, back to goal, fighting for a cross. Alderweireld won it but the ball fell enticingly for Guerreiro who met it on the volley with his right-foot swinger. Belgium scramble it away and Lukaku buys a free-kick, which he takes himself …
08:43 PM
83 min BEL 1 POR 0
Dalot is unable to cushion a superb Bruno Fernandes pass up the right but battles to win a corner that Bruno takes. He whips it to the right of the penalty spot from the right wing and Ruben Dias meets it on the run with a thumping header that bullets towards Courtois who beats it away.
08:41 PM
82 min BEL 1 POR 0
Alderweireld is booked for reaching Joao Felix late and clipping his heels.
08:40 PM
81 min BEL 1 POR 0
Double Portugal substitution: Danilo and Sergio Oliveira enter, Renato Sanches and Palhinha depart.
Real needle between the players now who have been fouling each other all game, are now leaving more and more boot into the tackle.
08:39 PM
79 min BEL 1 POR 0
Lukaku takes a glancing blow from a boot on the head. The referee blows to stop the game and Pepe, the red mist descending, hello anger my old friend, steams into Thorgan Hazard, kicking him so hard he almost does the splits. Pepe is only booked.
08:37 PM
77 min BEL 1 POR 0
Ronaldo receives the ball on the left of the box after Joao Felix dribbled through the D and went down under a well-timed tackle. He scoops his shot/cross straight down Courtois’ throat.
08:35 PM
75 min BEL 1 POR 0
Eden Hazard catches Bruno Fernandes on the ankle. Free-kick and earache ensue.
08:34 PM
73 min BEL 1 POR 0
Portugal free-kick 35 yards out. Dead straight. He flexes his neck muscles as he lines it up … and hits the wall. He’s gone all Roberto Carlos these days, bagsying all free-kicks on reputation rather than recent results.
08:31 PM
71 min BEL 1 POR 0
Portugal substitution: Andre Silva comes on for Diogo Jota.
08:31 PM
69 min BEL 1 POR 0
Bruno Fernandes pushes Eden Hazard over, catching him on the ankle, too. Portugal don’t like Hazard’s complaints to the referee, nor that he stayed down. Pepe went over to admonish him and Lukaku sprang to his defence, going nose to nose, pecs to pecs with Pepe.
08:29 PM
67 min BEL 1 POR 0
Renato Sanches plays the ball upfield to Diogo Jota, gets it back and thumps a right-foot shot wide from 25 yards.
08:27 PM
65 min BEL 1 POR 0
Renato Sanches breaks the lines with a dart from right to left but Joao Felix is too static, too hesitant to get in the box and Vermaelen’s canny positioning meant he couldn’t conceivably find Ronaldo.
08:24 PM
62 min BEL 1 POR 0
Bruno Fernandes takes on a hasty shot and larrups it over the bar. From the goalkick Belgium break up the left, Eden Hazard gives Dalot a lesson in sorcery then slips the ball infield to Lukaku who crashes a left-foot shot from 22 yards over the crossbar.
08:22 PM
60 min BEL 1 POR 0
Portugal have raised the tempo of their pressing and are playing with more urgency, champions determined not to depart on dustcarts. Renato Sanches whips a right-foot cross over from the left. Joao Felix meets it at the back post, falling backwards as he stretched, and steers his header tamely into Courtois’ grasp. Could have been perfect for Ronaldo, that cross.
08:19 PM
58 min BEL 1 POR 0
Ronaldo cuts in from the right, plays a one-two with Joao Felix and drives upfield. He threads a great left-foot pass up to Diogo Jota who is tightly marked but he still manages to get a shot off, looping it over the bar.
08:16 PM
56 min BEL 1 POR 0
Double substitution for Portugal: Joao Felix and Bruno Fernandes replace Bernardo Silva and Joao Moutinho.
08:15 PM
55 min BEL 1 POR 0
Lukaku goes spare with Mertens for overhitting a pass down the inside-right that would have given the centre-forward a run on Pepe. He points to his temples and chunters away.
08:13 PM
53 min BEL 1 POR 0
Bernardo Silva tracks back 60 yards to cut out a pass from Meunier on the right attempting to switch it to Thorgan Hazard on the left.
08:12 PM
51 min BEL 1 POR 0
Dalot goes into the book for his umpteenth offence, hanging on to Eden Hazard’s shoulders as the Belgium captain tried to spin him. The referee should have given us the ‘totting up signal’ pointing to each of the other scenes of crime but instead simply brandishes the card. Dalot gives him an earful.
08:10 PM
49 min BEL 1 POR 0
More fouls disrupt the game.
08:08 PM
48 min BEL 1 POR 0
De Bruyne can’t continue. He hit his knee hard when he fell after being fouled by Pahlinha but it was his left ankle that was badly sprained as Palhinha hit him, forcing his toe to stick in the grass as his momentun took the rest of his body forward. Dries Mertens.
08:06 PM
46 min BEL 1 POR 0
Portugal kick off. No changes for wither side. The punditry consensus is that Portugal will not change tactics just yet, not wanting to give Belgium the opportunity to kill the game on the break.
07:59 PM
The goal
07:51 PM
Half-time BEL 1 POR 0
Scrappy game, littered with niggly ‘tactical’ fouls. Only Renato Sanches and Kevin de Bruyne truly stood out from the squabbling packs until Thorgan Hazard struck.
07:49 PM
45+2 min BEL 1 POR 0
De Bruyne eventually continues. The referee didn’t give Belgium a free-kick, allowing the move to continue and Dalot defended the attack in risky style, shanking a volleyed clearance at his own goal. Rui Patricio bailed him out.
07:47 PM
45 min BEL 1 POR 0
Yellow card for Palhinha for a crunching tackle from behind on De Bruyne, clearing him out in his followthrough. He stays down and looks in pain of not in anguish.
07:46 PM
43 min BEL 1 POR 0
For the first time Belgium manage an overload when Portugal commit too many to the press just in front of their 18-yard line. De Brutne switches it to the spare man Thorgan Hazard, stepping in off the left wing, and he hits a cleaver shot, deliberately cutting his foot across it from 20 yards, five to the left of the D, so it swerved, dipped and wobbled away from Rui Patricio and flew into the left of the goal.
07:43 PM
GOOOOOOAL!!
Belgium 1 Portugal 0 (T Hazard)
07:43 PM
41 min BEL 0 POR 0
Dalot, from an offside position, bludgeons a volley wide from 18 yards. Renato Sanches, the brightest attacking player on the pitch in the face of no competition, charges away from De Bruyne and Witsel before finding Bernardo Silva on the right.
07:42 PM
39 min BEL 0 POR 0
Meunier zips infield from the right, plays a give and go with De Bruyne on the edge of the 18-yard line but then, instead of hitting it first time with his left, goes for a Paul Merson outside of the right boot special, curling it over the angle of bar and left post.
07:40 PM
37 min BEL 0 POR 0
Portugal whip the free-kick into the box, looking for Ronaldo but Ruben Dias wins it. His header is blocked at close range and the ball falls to De Bruyne who conjures a pass up to Lukaku. The centre-forward sprints down the middle, with Palhinham who has a fistful of his shirt, in close pursuit. He manages to lay off a pass before protesting to the referee when the ball is cleared but Felix Brych tells him he played the advantage.
07:37 PM
36 min BEL 0 POR 0
Foul after foul after foul disrupts the flow. This time it’s Vertonghen on Moutinho. Free-kick out on the right.
07:36 PM
34 min BEL 0 POR 0
Ronaldo comes deep for the ball for once and Tielemans clatters him from behind. There’s no settled tempo or rhythm to either side so far who are scrapping and stifling for all they’re worth but can’t find a pass to break down either defence.
07:34 PM
31 min BEL 0 POR 0
Pepe sends Eden Hazard flying but Belgium make nothing from the free-kick, then Vermaelen snaps into Ronaldo, upending him after he won the ball. Portugal are too slow with the ball. Only Guerreiro seems to be playing with any urgency which, given they have had more possession than Belgium, is holding them back.
07:32 PM
29 min BEL 0 POR 0
Palhinha comes through Lukaku, catching his foot. Belgium demand a free-kick 25 yards out but the referee waves play on and Ronaldo gives forlorn chase to a long ball down the left that was too far ahead of him to reach early enough and get a run on a defender.
07:29 PM
27 min BEL 0 POR 0
Palhinha, feeding off scraps, after Meunier wins a back-post header in a duel with Diogo Jota, opens his body to shoot from the left of the D but gets under it and slices it over the bar.
07:27 PM
25 min BEL 0 POR 0
Ronaldo hits one of his speciality up and downers, walloping the valve Roberto Carlos-style so it dips alarmingly but it’s too close to Courtois who bats it away.
07:25 PM
23 min BEL 0 POR 0
Portugal free-kick after Jota gets his foot to the ball before Vermaelen, knocks it past him but the defender falls and knocks it away with his hand. Twenty-two yards out to the right of the box.
07:24 PM
21 min BEL 0 POR 0
De Bruyne hits an extraordinary 75-yard pass from the left of his area down the right win for Meunier who reaches it before it crosses the byline but his cross is easily defended. Portugal come back up the left, Ronaldo attempts to spin and fox Meunier who stands tall and doesn’t buy the dummy, instead dropping his shoulder into his chest. Ronaldo goes down clutching his face.
07:21 PM
19 min BEL 0 POR 0
Thorgan Hazard dribbles down the left, cuts in by dropping his shoulder but doesn’t offload quickly enough and leaves himself surrounded by white shirts. His last option is to shoot and lets fly through a thicket of Portuguese legs but strikes Dalot.
07:19 PM
17 min BEL 0 POR 0
Renato wins the ball in midfield and fizzes a pass into Moutinho who cannot trap it first time, pushing it too close to Witsel and, when he tries to recover, goes flying into Belgium’s No6 feet first into his shinners. Free-kick.
07:17 PM
15 min BEL 0 POR 0
First sustained spell of possession for Portugal but Belgium press hard, particularly Tielemans and ultimately force Portugal to go long and they are caught offside.
07:14 PM
12 min BEL 0 POR 0
It’s all Belgium in terms of possession. Portugal set, up to play on the break, leave Ronaldo up top but everyone else drops to press when necessary. Belgium just happy to stroke it around for now, kettled at a safe distance from goal.
07:12 PM
10 min BEL 0 POR 0
Meunier is the recipient of a 40-yard diagonal lofted down the right wing. He gets beyond Guerreiro but shifts the ball inside rather than go to the byline, working it over to the left where Eden Hazard plays a one-two with Lukaku and then blazes a shot from 20 yards miles over the bar.
07:11 PM
8 min BEL 0 POR 0
Portugal fans are booing every Belgium touch, of which there are 10 for every Portuguese one as they probe around the middle third.
07:08 PM
6 min BEL 0 POR 0
Witsel and Moutinho go toe to toe out on the Belgium left, shoving each other as Belgium win a throw. Thorgan Hazard takes it, looking for his brother but Renato cuts it out and bombs on a diaginal run in from the touchline before slipping a pass through to Diogo Jota, running infield down the inside-left channel. Good chance, this, but he scuds a left-foot shot wide, not even drawing a save from Courtois.
07:05 PM
4 min BEL 0 POR 0
Error from Vertonghen, pushing the ball up the line for T Hazard, misplaces it and gives it to Dalot who runs out of space before he can get a run on the left centre-half.
07:04 PM
3 min BEL 0 POR 0
Belgium build up the left with Thorgan Hazard who cuts the ball inside for De Bruyne. Unusually for him, he plays conservatively, shifting the ball back and Portugal happily push up.
07:02 PM
1 min BEL 0 POR 0
The most mouth-watering of Round of 16 ties kicks off with Belgium, attacking from left to right. This match is at La Cartuja, which has an athletics track, easily the worst possible thing to be present at a football ground.
06:58 PM
National anthem time
All porcelain teeth and patriotic pride.
06:57 PM
Out come the teams
Portugal in white with claret-black and intermittent green horizontal stripes, apparently the kit of the tournament, Belgium in rouge.
06:36 PM
Belgium v Portugal
Is one of the rarer European fixtures. The two have never met at a tournament before today and have played only six competitive internationals (plus 13 friendlies). The last time they met with something at stake was 14 years ago in Brussels, Portugal winning 2-1. It was a rare night off for Cristiano Ronaldo but there are two survivors in tonight’s line-ups – Vermaelen and Vertonghen.
06:12 PM
Meanwhile in Budapest
Matthijs de Ligt sent off as Czech Republic beat Netherlands to reach Euro 2020 quarters
06:04 PM
Eighteen thousand at Estadio La Cartuja de Sevilla tonight
05:59 PM
Ch … ch … ch … changes
Diogo Dalot, who only made his international debut as a late sub on Wednesday night against Germany, replaces Nelson Semedo while another substitute, Joao Palinha, replaces Danilo as the sitting midfielder.
Dries Mertens can’t find a way back into the team as Roberto Martinez keeps his two ballon d’or quality attacking midfielders together after the Finland game. Toby Alderweireld at 32 is the baby of the back line: Thomas Vermaelen is 35, Jan Vertonghen 34. Bernardo and Diogo Jota will try to use the space between the wide players in the midfield four and Alderweireld on the right and Vertonghen on the left.
05:54 PM
For those of you watching in black and white
Belgium Courtois; Alderweireld, Vermaelen, Vertonghen; Meunier, Tielemans, Witsel, Thorgan Hazard; De Bruyne, Eden Hazard; Lukaku.
Substitutes Mignolet, Sels, Boyata, Carrasco,Mertens, Denayer, Dendoncker, Benteke, Batshuayi, Trossard, Doku, Praet.
Portugal Rui Patricio; Dalot, Pepe, Dias, Guerreiro; Sanches, Joao Palhinha, Joao Moutinho; Bernardo Silva, Ronaldo, Jota.
Substitutes Lopes, Rui Silva, Nelson Semedo, Fonte, Andre Silva, Bruno Fernandes, Danilo Pereira, Neves, Goncalves, Joao Felix, Sergio Oliveira, Nuno Mendes.
Referee Felix Brych (Germany)
05:43 PM
Two changes for Portugal
05:39 PM
All veteran back three for Belgium
The Hazard brothers and De Bruyne start:
04:44 PM
Lethal Lukaku eyes 100 club to join his hero Ronaldo
By Mike McGrath
It took five years and six attempts but Romelu Lukaku finally managed a first win over Cristiano Ronaldo last season.
It was a moment to savour for Lukaku at the San Siro after winning against one of his idols. He was trying to take the Scudetto from the Juventus forward but there was a deep-rooted appreciation for him, to the point where he would argue his case when debating Messi v Ronaldo among friends.
Lukaku is no different to the other strikers at the top of Europe’s goalscoring charts, preoccupied with who the real deal is. One phrase that pops up is a “stat-padder”, borrowed from American sport, where a player boosts his statistics with goals that have little meaning in games.
Ronaldo is no stat-padder. The big performances, the important goals on the highest stage. Consolation penalties mean little to him.
It is this standard that Lukaku wants to be measured by in a career where questions have been asked whether he belongs in the top bracket of strikers. His confidence has fluctuated but at the moment he heads into today’s Euro last-16 clash, against Portugal and Ronaldo, as a player with a healthy arrogance of where his game is.
Ronaldo will start the tie at La Cartuja in Seville needing one goal to overtake Ali Daei and become the leading international goalscorer of all time, with Lukaku among the few players with any chance of eventually catching him.
In fact, Lukaku’s record compares favourably with 63 goals from 96 caps. Ronaldo had netted 36 after the same number of internationals, although his rate of goalscoring since has been superhuman.
Despite being Belgium’s record scorer, Lukaku has endured an uneasy relationship with supporters. He has been jeered for bad misses and articulated his frustration before the last World Cup, when asked about his brother’s comments about the country’s most prolific player not receiving the credit he deserves. “Maybe he is right,” said Lukaku.
“When things were going well, I was reading newspaper articles and they were calling me Romelu Lukaku, the Belgian striker,” he wrote on the Players’ Tribune. “When things weren’t going well, they were calling me Romelu Lukaku, the Belgian striker of Congolese descent.”
Since finishing third at the World Cup, Lukaku has fallen back in love with playing for Belgium. Before, there were questions of when he could call it a day with international football. Reaching 50 goals?
Qatar? Now it is thought he has one eye on his century for Belgium, which would take only another 50-odd caps given his current rate of scoring.
Vincent Kompany was a confidant in the Belgium squad and is no longer there but he is close with Axel Witsel and Dedryck Boyata. He has a Chelsea connection with Eden Hazard, although he was loaned when they were both at the club. There is on-the-pitch chemistry with Kevin De Bruyne.
Thierry Henry being back on the coaching staff is also a big factor. The pair spoke to each other most weeks when the Frenchman left for MLS with Montreal Impact. Now he is back and showing he can still play in training.
Ahead of the Finland game last week, players were practising free-kicks for half an hour before Henry strolled up and put one in the top corner with his left foot. Lukaku escorted him off the pitch, saying: “Us record scorers don’t need to be hanging around here.”
Lukaku has just turned 28 and has appeared the happiest of his career, having won his first title, with Inter Milan, since he was a young striker with Anderlecht. He wants to stay with the Italian champions and win back-to-back titles, proving last season was no fluke.
The only barrier would be an offer which Inter’s owners may consider to ease any financial concerns. Many Italian sources say £103 million would secure Lukaku, which is much less than the asking price of Harry Kane, Erling Haaland or Kylian Mbappe.
Manchester United’s decision to let him leave for Inter was part of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s cultural reboot but they are still looking for his long-term replacement, having found a short-term solution in Edinson Cavani.
He was always playing catch-up under Solskjaer, having been away from the club when the Norwegian arrived. He was given permission by Jose Mourinho to fly away on a private plane for the birth of his first child after the defeat by Liverpool on Dec 16. By the time he returned from paternity leave, Mourinho had been replaced.
Solskjaer started his tenure without his main striker and eased Lukaku back to action after Christmas before playing him against Paris St-Germain and seeing his two goals going some way to landing him the permanent job. However, by the end of the season Solskjaer was looking at different combinations up front, all of them involving Marcus Rashford as a central striker. It appeared that Rashford was the future for United.
It was Antonio Conte who restored Lukaku’s confidence when he moved to Inter. The nutritionists at the San Siro also changed Lukaku’s diet and made him leaner after detecting a digestive problem.
The result has been a return to the player at the start of his United career, who was clocking high speeds late into matches with his sprints.
“He controls the whole situation. I don’t know any defender, apart from [Virgil] Van Dijk, physically who could be able to deal with that,” said Rio Ferdinand, analysing his game on BBC. It is high praise for a player with more international goals in his sights, possibly taking him to a century.