Belgium recorded a convincing 3-0 victory over the Republic of Ireland to breath life into their stuttering Euro 2016 campaign.
Romelu Lukaku managed a second half brace, either side of Axel Witsel’s header to break Ireland’s determined resistance, which lasted little over 45 minutes.
Here’s how each player rated on the day.
Belgium
Thibaut Courtois – 6: Might as well have set up a beach chair on the edge of his six yard box, piña colada in hand.
Thomas Meunier – 8: Found space in deep areas with the opponents sitting so deep. Capitalised on that to bomb forward and assist Witsel for Belgium’s second.
Toby Alderweireld – 8: Crucial tackle to deny Hoolahan after a costly turnover in defence. Mopped up well after the break as Ireland pushed forward with more desire.
Thomas Vermaelen – 7: Strong battle with Long, but was booked after the break for overstepping the mark. Solid defensively otherwise.
Jan Vertonghen – 7: Did his job defensively and got forward like a natural full-back.
Axel Witsel – 8: Unassured in possession at times but screened his defence to good effect. Pushed forward after Nainngolan’s introduction and scored.
Mousa Dembélé – 7: Imperious in possession and improved furthermore after the break before being substituted.
Yannick Carrasco – 6: Disallowed goal on 24 minutes. Worked hard, but the 22-year-old is still finding his feet at international level.
Kevin De Bruyne – 9: In everything early. After the break, created the opening goal for Lukaku and was brilliant outside of that instance.
Eden Hazard – 7: Squandered a chance to open the scoring. Improved as his team did after the break.
Romelu Lukaku – 8: Unsighted in the first half, but opened the scoring by capping off a brilliant Belgium counter before adding a second with a cool finish.
Substitutes
Radja Nainngolan – 6: The hard-working midfielder slotted in ahead of the defence, allowing Witsel to roam forward to great effect.
Dries Mertens – 5: Had a few opportunities on the ball in forward areas but made little impact.
Christian Benteke – N/A: Given less than 10 minutes to impress.
Ireland
Darren Randolph – 6: Could do little any of Belgium’s clear-cut chances which led to goals.
Seamus Coleman – 5: Had his hands full with Hazard. Could not get forward with his usual vigour as a result.
Ciaran Clark – 4: Under immense pressure from the first whistle to last. Guilty of ball watching for Witsel’s header.
John O’Shea – 5: Might look back at replays of Lukaku’s opener and feel that an effort to close down the striker’s left foot should have been the number one priority. Under siege thereafter.
Stephen Ward – 6: Came into the team at left-back and did relatively well on Carrasco and later Mertens.
Glenn Whelan – 5: Most of his work was done defensively, as was to be expected.
James McCarthy – 5: Worked his socks off but will be disappointed by letting Witsel go for Belgium’s second goal.
Jeff Hendrick – 4: Clever in possession early on, but most of his work was off the ball in covering the flanks.
Robbie Brady – 5: Tidy in possession but was made to work hard defensively in closing down Carrasco.
Wes Hoolahan – 5: Wasteful in possession. Great clearance off the line with the score at 0-0.
Shane Long – 6: Unenviable task of running the channels all game, but won his fair share of possession and relished the physical challenge posed. Could not make an impact, however.
Substitutions
James Mclean – 4: Biggest impact after coming on was losing possession for Belgium’s second goal.
Aiden McGeady – N/A: Difficult task of attempting to create or score with his team firmly on the back foot.
Robbie Keane – N/A: Afforded little over 10 minutes with his team managing very few attacks.
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