Belgium 4 Hungary 0
Everton’s top goalscorer switches off, talks to himself, disappears.
After 10 minutes Belgium’s 24-year-old Man City playmaker Kevin De Bruyne’s superb free-kick was met by a booming header from Tottenham’s Toby Alderweireld.
That made it 1-0.
Then keeper Gabor Kiraly tipped a De Bruyne free-kick onto the bar.
Both sides were attacking with plenty of spirit and imagination.
But, strangely, the only goal had come from a free-kick.
Hungary , who had drawn 3-3 with Portugal last week, had chances because it was such an open game.
At half-time BBC pundit Thierry Henry asked, “How is it still 1-0?”
Then I had two bets: Belgium to score the next goal. And Over 3.5 goals.
Only 30 seconds into the second half, Eden Hazard cut in from the left and had a good shot saves.
But by 57 minutes I’d started to worry and was screaming, “Take Mertens off!”
The right-sided midfielder was feeble.
In this period, between 50 and 60, the Belgians seemed to lose belief that they’d score another goal and plucky keeper Kiraly looked willing and able to keep the red-shirted Magyars in the game.
Yannick Carrasco, the lanky Atletico Madrid winger, at last replaced Dries Mertens… but that made no immediate improvement.
A young Belgian girl in the crowd held up a handwritten cardboard placard: KISS ME CARRASCO.
In 76, Romelu Lumpaku was taken off and 22-year-old Marseilles striker Michy Batshuyai came on.
When Hazard whipped in a brilliant left-foot cross in 78, Batshuyai made it 2-0.
And very quickly, in 79, Eden Hazard swerved inside and hit a sensational right-foot shot into the corner for 3-0.
THIS IS MORE LIKE IT!!!
In 81, Fellaini replaced Hazard, who got a standing ovation.
After Lumpaku was taken off, the Belgians were energised, galvanised, much more explosive and positive.
But I still needed another goal and didn’t mind if Hungary scored it.
In 91, Nainggolan played in Carrasco, who produced a fabulous left-foot shot inside the near post for 4-0.
After waiting far too long, I’d won both bets.
An enjoyable game but a very unusual one, like a Sixties match between two flair teams who kept passing it forward & running forward with the ball.
By the 91st minute the start of my Sunday, watching Andrew Marr’s newspaper reviewers talk about Brexit, seemed a very long time ago.