Toulouse: Eden Hazard scored his first goal of Euro 2016 as Belgium cruised into the quarterfinals with a 4-0 win that ended Hungary’s fairytale campaign. Belgium go into the European Championship quarterfinals for the first time since losing the 1980 final. They were dominant throughout at Stadium de Toulouse after Toby Alderweireld headed them into a 10th minute lead.
The Red Devils wasted a series of great chances to finish the game before Michy Batshuayi, with his first touch as a substitute, Hazard and Yannick Carrasco scored in the last 12 minutes.
Belgium now battle Wales in Lille, near the French-Belgian border, for a place in the semifinals. Hungary impressively won their group but if they struck any fear into Belgian hearts it did not show. From Kevin De Bruyne’s speculative fourth-minute strike that sailed over Gabor Kiraly’s crossbar, the Red Devils were too hot for a Hungary making their return to a major tournament three decades after the 1986 World Cup.
Almost from kick-off, Kiraly was kept busy as Romelu Lukaku, then De Bruyne, after Hazard’s superb delivery, tested the goalkeeper. With Belgian nerves settled, Hazard in particular dazzled fans with some mazy runs, dribbles, and sublime passes that carved open the Hungarian defence. But a lack of clinical finishing left Belgium at risk during an encouraging Hungary fightback in the second half. Immediately after the restart, Kiraly palmed over Hazard’s right-footed drive, but Hungary came fighting back. Striker Adam Szalai fired into the side-netting before rising above the Belgian defence to send a deflected header wide.
But Belgium responded in style. Michy Batshuayi came off the bench to punish Hungary when he ran in unmarked after the hour to first-time his shot past Kiraly. The ‘keeper was then left clutching at thin air when Hazard ran across the edge of the area unchallenged to beat him at his far post. Carrasco, another substitute, added their fourth in the first minute of added time when he powered down the middle on the counter to beat Kiraly.
Eden, a Hazard for hapless Hungary:
Chelsea star Eden Hazard said Belgium are hoping to keep the Euro 2016 party going with a win over Wales in Lille on Friday but said their 4-0 rout of Hungary will be hard to beat. In an impressive man-of-the-match performance Hazard hit his maiden goal of the tournament as the Red Devils proved far too hot to handle for an outclassed Hungary side.
Hazard can’t wait to play in Lille, a northern French city close to the Belgian border where he starred for four seasons before moving to England. But he said: “Doing better than tonight would be difficult, I think. Everything was almost perfect. We scored goals, we created a lot of chances, we helped Thibaut (Courtois) keep a clean sheet.
“All in all it was a great night, but we made it easy for ourselves. We created a lot of chances from the start. In the second half we killed off the match. To do better will be hard. But we’ll try.” Going on this performance, Belgium will fancy their chances although Hazard admitted their next opponent Wales, and their Real Madrid superstar Gareth Bale, could be “complicated”.
“They’re a complicated side to play against. We played them in the qualifiers, we haven’t beaten them I don’t think,” he added. “They’re quite a compact side with a star player up front (Bale) so we’re going to have to study them well and try to do our best to win this match.” Coach Marc Wilmots was cautious. “We’re into the quarterfinals, but we’ve done nothing yet,” said the Belgian, who will be without defender Thomas Vermaelen after he picked up a yellow card to trigger a one-match suspension.
