Belgium came from behind to claim an important victory and top spot in Group B with a 2-1 win against Denmark.
Although the hosts stole an early lead, the sheer quality and strength in depth in Roberto Martinez’s squad eventually shone through and left Denmark on zero points and in desperate need of a win over Russia in their final group fixture.
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Belgium
At half time Belgium were a goal down and in desperate need of some inspiration. So Martinez did the only thing he knew what to do in that situation: he brought on Kevin de Bruyne.
Despite having a broken nose and eye socket, the Manchester City midfielder settled into the game instantly and grabbed it by the scruff of the neck, as he almost single-handedly pulled Belgium back to victory.
His first moment of magic came in the 55th minute when Romelu Lukaku darted into the box, only to cut the ball back to De Bruyne. Most players would shoot on the spot, but the Man City playmaker instead passed the ball to the far post, where Thorgen Hazard was more than happy to tuck it into the back of the net.
As if that wasn’t enough, De Bruyne then scored Belgium’s second and most crucial goal just 15 minutes later when Eden Hazard squared the ball to the midfielder outside the Danish box, only to watch De Bruyne tuck it into the bottom left corner from 20 yards out. A truly stunning performance.
Despite having a broken nose and eye socket, the Manchester City midfielder settled into the game instantly and grabbed it by the scruff of the neck, as he almost single-handedly pulled Belgium back to victory.
His first moment of magic came in the 55th minute when Romelu Lukaku darted into the box, only to cut the ball back to De Bruyne. Most players would shoot on the spot, but the Man City playmaker instead passed the ball to the far post, where Thorgen Hazard was more than happy to tuck it into the back of the net.
As if that wasn’t enough, De Bruyne then scored Belgium’s second and most crucial goal just 15 minutes later when Eden Hazard squared the ball to the midfielder outside the Danish box, only to watch De Bruyne tuck it into the bottom left corner from 20 yards out. A truly stunning performance.
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Denmark
While Denmark ultimately lost the match, the Scandinavian side can take plenty of confidence from their performance. At the heart of that was midfielder Pierre Emile Hojbjerg.
Alongside Thomas Delaney, the Southampton talent dominated in the middle of the pitch and had his tenacity rewarded after just two minutes when he intercepted a pass from Jason Denayer and set up his teammate Yussuf Poulsen for the opening goal.
The Danes undoubtedly took their foot off the gas in the second half, but everything they achieved on the day came through Hojbjerg.
Alongside Thomas Delaney, the Southampton talent dominated in the middle of the pitch and had his tenacity rewarded after just two minutes when he intercepted a pass from Jason Denayer and set up his teammate Yussuf Poulsen for the opening goal.
The Danes undoubtedly took their foot off the gas in the second half, but everything they achieved on the day came through Hojbjerg.
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Denmark
To the surprise of nobody that has been watching Barcelona for much of the last season, Danish striker Martin Braithwaite seemed to be everywhere and nowhere all at the same time for much of this game.
The physical forward rarely struggled to get on the ball in the Belgian final third but whenever a half chance appeared in front of him, the Barcelona player did his very best to muck it up.
With six shots towards goal, no player from either side attempted more than Braithwaite through the match but he never really seemed like scoring at any point.
The physical forward rarely struggled to get on the ball in the Belgian final third but whenever a half chance appeared in front of him, the Barcelona player did his very best to muck it up.
With six shots towards goal, no player from either side attempted more than Braithwaite through the match but he never really seemed like scoring at any point.
