Romelu Lukaku was in his element as he scored two goals to give Belgium a winning start in Euro 2020 against Russia but the teams were concerned over the health of Christian Eriksen.
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The shadow of Christian Eriksen’s collapse lingered on most of the games of Euro 2020 on Saturday. The image of Eriksen collapsing and receiving treatment on the field stunned football players and fans alike. But, in the end, the beautiful game had to continue. A fitting tribute was given by Romelu Lukaku, with Belgium starting their campaign on a high with a 3-0 win against Russia in St Petersburg.
Before the start of the match, Lukaku had revealed that he had shed tears of Christian Eriksen’s well-being. It was Lukaku who led from the front with two brilliant goals. After he scored the first goal, Lukaku ran to the pitch-side camera and shouted, “Chris, Chris, stay strong. I love you.” Belgium coach Roberto Martinez said Belgium players were distracted and concerned. However, once they came out on the pitch, the aim was to perform brilliantly.
After Lukaku had given the earlier lead, substitute Thomas Meunier doubled Belgium’s lead with a goal in the 34th minute. Russia were struggling to match Belgium’s pace and their combination of attack and defence. Lukaku put the result beyond doubt with a goal late into the match.
The performance by Belgium will be praiseworthy considering that they were missing two of their key players in the side. Kevin de Bruyne and Axel Witsel were injured prior to the match. Eden Hazard, who did not feature for most of the game, came on as a substitute with just 18 minutes left on the clock.
Earlier in the game, Belgium had to deal with another big injury to a key player. Timothy Castagne clashed heads with Russia’s Daler Kuzyaev in the 26th minute. He was replaced by Meunier. The injury was bad enough to rule Castagne out of the tournament. Martinez revealed that Castagne had suffered an eye injury as well as two facial fractures. This has ruled Castagne out of the tournament.
The match was marred by controversy at the start. The Belgium players were booed for taking a knee to highlight racial injustice. The Russian players only stood.
The Krestovsky Stadium jeered the entire Belgian team as well as Spanish referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz when they knelt. Lukaku, who has his roots in the Democratic Republic of Congo, raised his right fist. Apart from Belgium, England will take the knee to highlight racial injustice ahead of their clash against Croatia.
Belgium is the top-ranked team in the world. They have several star players and they are making an impact on the world football stage in the last couple of seasons. In the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Belgium finished third after they lost in the semi-final to France. Belgium registered wins against England twice but their most notable win came against Brazil in the quarterfinal. The European side was on the brink of elimination in the Round of 16 when they went down 0-2 to Japan but they bounced back to win the game 3-2.
Belgium have some star players in Kevin de Bruyne, Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku, Thibaut Courtois. However, the side are ageing and this is possibly the last chance for Belgium to seek glory in world footballs. Belgium have never won the Euro football tournament and the World Cup. Perhaps, Euro 2020 will represent the last chance for the golden generation of Belgium football to get one major trophy in their cabinet.
