Mertens Wonder Strike, Lukaku Brace Give Belgium Victory

Hazard and De Bruyne Probing

The first 45 minutes saw Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne showcase some wonderful skills without a final product. Hazard, in particular, played passes across the Panama penalty area, intercepted the ball in dangerous areas, brought his overlapping runner into play, and endured some painful tackles. His best moment arrived after holding off a Panama defender so he could force a save from Jaime Penedo. Hazard’s fellow midfielder Kevin De Bruyne used his imagination to make some exceptional passes. He played a ground pass from a corner kick into the path of Dries Mertens, snatched the ball off of the opposition defenders’ feet, and tapped the ball into Hazard’s path with a backheel.

Hazard and De Bruyne’s work went unrewarded at first for two reasons. First, Kevin De Bruyne’s starting position was too far back. The Manchester City midfielder has the talent to unlock the most stubborn of defences, but he had to run extra yards in order to do so. On the other hand, Eden Hazard needed Romelu Lukaku to break free from the physicality of Panama’s Gabriel Enrique Gómez and Román Torres.

Goals from Mertens and Lukaku

The way that Belgium took the lead in the second half was thoroughly surprising. Dries Mertens volleyed a wonderful strike on goal from a long distance. That is, Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne weren’t responsible for Belgium taking the lead. Their influence came later with more substantial passing. Kevin De Bruyne used the outside of his foot to allow Lukaku to direct a bullet header on goal. Eden Hazard later weighted a pass to perfection into the path of Lukaku, where he chipped the ball calmly over the keeper. In contrast to the first half, these passes were less about flair and more about substance.

In the end, it seems that Belgium wore Panama down. After all, Panama had to defend for long periods of the match. Over time, Lukaku seemed to find space away from the strong Panama defenders. Additionally, the second half saw the Belgian players move more effectively while a teammate had possession of the ball.

Panama Gave Effort

A final score of 3-0 to Belgium seems harsh on Panama. Their players defended admirably in the first half, and they threatened the Belgian defence on multiple occasions. The number of times that the Panama midfielders switched the play with a long ball was phenomenal. Often, players such as Édgar Yoel Bárcenas ran into the channels to hunt these forward passes down.

Panama will feel disappointed in not having scored a goal, but Belgium was always going to be the most difficult team to play in this group. They have a long way to go in order to qualify, but they certainly left everything out on the pitch.