BY Jonathan Ledger
Belgium advanced into the quarter-final of Euro 2020 following a 1-0 victory over Portugal, the defending champions, on Sunday.
Belgium, the number one ranked football nation, scored the decisive goal through Thorgan Hazard, the younger brother of captain Eden Hazard, three minutes before halftime.
Portugal dominated possession and shots on goal but the Red Devils of Belgium made their only shot on target count to further maintain hopes of winning their first international tournament.
Diogo Jota shot wide for Portugal when sent free on goal early on and while both sides threatened, the breakthrough had to wait until the 42nd minute.
Hazard let fly a 20-yard swerving thunderbolt that proved unstoppable for Rui Patricio in Portugal’s goal, handing Belgium a 1-0 lead at the interval.
Portugal continued to create better chances but Jota, again, fired wide when well placed in the area while Raphael Guerreiro’s volley agonisingly hit the upright.
Thibaut Courtois came to the rescue of Belgium with a last-minute save at the back post from Andre Silva’s shot.
Belgium will square up against Italy in the quarter-final encounter set for Friday.
The Czech Republic earlier booked a last-eight place thanks to a humbling 2-0 win over 10-man Netherlands.
The Netherlands should have scored before Matthijs de Ligt was shown a straight red in the 55th minute and the Czech capitalised on the advantage.
Tomas Holes’ header and Patrick Schick’s fourth goal of the tournament finished off Frank de Boer’s men as the unfancied side made their way into the next stage of the competition.
They will face Denmark in the next round at the Olympic Stadium in Baku, Azerbaijan.
This website uses cookies.