Belgium
Former Premier League men star, Ronaldo quiet – Belgium 1-0 Portugal Player Ratings
Belgium reached the quarter-finals of Euro 2020 after a tight 1-0 win over Portugal. The first chance of the game fell to Portugal, and they will have been disappointed with the end result. Renato Sanches embarked on a brilliant driving run before feeding Diogo Jota, but the Liverpool man dragged his shot well wide. For much of the first half, Belgium were struggling to create anything of note, finding themselves limited to an ambitious effort by Thomas Meunier. But they managed to take the lead shortly before half time in fine fashion. Thorgan Hazard picked up the ball from 25 yards out and unleashed a powerful strike into the far corner. Although the ball moved a lot in the air, Portuguese goalkeeper Rui Patricio will feel like he should have done better. There was an early blow in the s...
Romelu Lukaku backed to succeed Robert Lewandowski at Bayern Munich
Former Belgium striker Emile Mpenza has tipped Romelu Lukaku to succeed Robert Lewandowski at Bayern Munich. The 28-year-old has excelled at Inter, scoring 64 goals in just 95 matches since joining the Serie A side from Manchester United in 2019. The forward has a similar record for the national team, having struck 63 times in 96 caps for the Rode Duivels, including three at Euro 2020. Mpenza has been amazed by the ex-Chelsea and Anderlecht player’s development and believes Bayern would be smart to look at him if they need to replace Poland sensation Lewandowski following his 48-goal campaign in Germany. “Romelu’s strength in a duel and his speed are outstanding. That makes it so difficult for the defenders against him,” Mpenza told Sport Bild. “If they go into a duel with him, he uses his...
Manchester United man leads Euro 2020 Best XI while Ronaldo leads from the front
The Euro 2020 group stages have come to a close, and it’s just a short wait before the knockout rounds begin. The opening two weeks of action have been nothing short of enthralling. We’ve seen some incredible goals, great drama, and an inexplicable amount of own goals. What’s not to love? Here is our best XI from the group stage. Lukas Hradecky (GK) – Hradecky can count himself unlucky to be going home early, having put in some excellent performances in the last three games. He kicked off his tournament with a crucial penalty save in the 1-0 win over Denmark and followed this up with another good performance in the 1-0 defeat against Russia. His final game was impressive but ended in heartbreak. He made several brilliant stops to keep Belgium at bay but scored an unlucky own goal to s...
Premier League and Serie A stars shine – Finland 0-2 Belgium Player Ratings
Belgium wrapped up top spot in Group B with a 2-0 win over Finland in their final group stage game. The first half was one-way traffic, with Finland evidently looking to stay in the game for as long as possible. Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku were seeing a lot of the ball, but couldn’t find a way through. Those same two players combined for the best chance of the opening 45. De Bruyne floated in a wonderful cross for Lukaku, but the Inter Milan forward’s finish was uncharacteristically poor, heading straight at Lukas Hradecky. Hradecky had to be at his best shortly before half time. Teenager Jeremy Doku drove into the box and struck a shot towards the far corner, but the goalkeeper threw out a strong left arm to turn it away. The two sides went in at the break level. Finland ended the h...
Man City star to make first Euro 2020 start while Inter Milan striker looks to boost Golden Boot hopes
Krestovsky Stadium is the venue as Finland hope to stage a miracle and beat Belgium on Monday to make it out of the group stage on their Euro debut. A victory over Belgium seems like sci-fi, but Finland head into the match knowing a triumph over odds-on favourites will guarantee them a place in the knock-out stages. On the other hand, the Belgians have already qualified for the round of 16, but they are keen to conclude their Euro group stage campaign with all three wins for the first time. Note: You can watch all Euro 2020 games via live streaming. Finland Preview Finland lost 1-0 to Russia in their second group stage match following a narrow 1-0 victory over Denmark in their Group B curtain-raiser but can still reach the knock-outs. If their encounter with Belgium produces a 1-0 sco...
Euro 2020 Best XI from Round 2: Dumfries, Gosen and a dream midfield trio
It’s been another exciting round of Euro 2020 action, with several players putting in standout performances for their country. As we approach the last selection of group stage fixtures, it’s all very nicely set up. We should be in for an enthralling finale. Here is our best XI from the second round of Euro 2020 games. Danny Ward (GK) – Wales go into their final group game with Italy in a very good position. With four points from two games, they look almost certain to qualify for the knockouts. And they couldn’t have done it without Danny Ward, who was excellent again in the win over Turkey. His stunning late save from Merih Demiral’s header was vital to keeping his side ahead in the closing stages, as they later got a second. Denzel Dumfries (RB) – The right-back has made a reall...
Man City star makes huge impact in comeback victory – Denmark 1-2 Belgium Player Ratings
Belgium came from behind to defeat Denmark in a thrilling Group B match at Euro 2020 on Thursday. It was the perfect start by Denmark, who took the lead after just two minutes. Jason Denayer’s pass was cut out by Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, who slipped the ball through to Yussuf Poulsen. The RB Leipzig man coolly rolled the ball into the bottom left corner to open the scoring. Both sides had chances within the next five minutes to add to the scoresheet. Belgium came close when Youri Tielemans’ cross was glanced towards goal by Dries Mertens, but straight at Kasper Schmeichel. Meanwhile, Denmark had three chances in quick succession to double their advantage. Joakim Maehle almost forced his way through but was smothered by Thibaut Courtois, and Martin Braithwaite also came close. Maehle was infl...
Belgian Officials Force Tomorrowland to Cancel 2021 Festival
During a press conference Thursday in Belgium, government officials said that while they revere the festival and regret this outcome, they have to follow current law and react to the current situation regarding the virus, especially on an international scale. For Tomorrowland to happen, its roughly 75,000 daily attendees would need to undergo testing for each day of the three-day event, officials said Thursday. The Belgian government stipulates that private companies cannot do the testing, and today local officials noted that the police do not have the resources to provide that level of testing. The police also have stated that they would not be able to secure the area sufficiently if they would also have to check IDs and proof of vaccination. In a statement, Tomorrowland said th...
De Bruyne returns to the fold as Belgium meet devastated Denmark
Belgium will be looking to become the second team after Italy to qualify for the Euro 2020 knock-out stages when they meet Denmark at the Parken Stadium on Thursday. The teams experienced contrasting fortunes on Matchday 1, with Denmark losing to Finland and Belgium dismantling Stanislav Cherchesov’s Russia. Danish Dynamite will have to pick themselves up from one of the most disturbing moments in the history of the European Championships if they want to avoid early elimination. Note: You can watch all Euro 2020 games via live streaming. Denmark Preview Despite shockingly losing to the tournament debutant Finland in their Group B opener, Denmark showed great mental fortitude to see out the encounter following Christian Eriksen’s on-field collapse. Kasper Hjumland’s men decided to retu...
Danish players criticise decision to resume game after Christian Eriksen collapse
Denmark’s goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel and striker Martin Braithwaite on Monday lamented that they had to choose whether to restart the Denmark-Finland Euro 2020 match while they were reeling from Christian Eriksen’s mid-game collapse. “We were put in a position, that I personally feel that we shouldn’t have been put in,” Schmeichel told Danish media at a press event in Helsingor north of Copenhagen. “We had two options,” Schmeichel explained. “Either come back the day after (Sunday) at noon or continue the game.” The Leicester City goalkeeper said he wished someone more senior would’ve said “that it wasn’t the time to take that decision, and that we should maybe wait until the day after to decide”. “What has happened has happened, and hopefully they’ll learn from this,” Schmeichel said, a...
All Euro 2020 nation crests redesigned, for the modern era
National team crests are just different from their club counterparts. Both are an integral part of the team’s history, and both are definitely tattooed on many of the fans. However, in the past decade or so, most national team crests have already been updated and bought into the modern era of design. National team crests also seem to be simpler and have less elements than their club counterparts. That being said, I did find some ways to further simplify them. In some cases through minor changes without removing elements. It was also interesting to note how similar some of the crests can be to each other. For example Scotland, Netherlands & Wales all feature a roaring majestic lion or dragon. Or how Sweden and Finland, both nordic countries, feature their flags on a shield. I have tried...
Danish players criticise decision to resume game after Christian Eriksen collapse
Denmark’s goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel and striker Martin Braithwaite on Monday lamented that they had to choose whether to restart the Denmark-Finland Euro 2020 match while they were reeling from Christian Eriksen’s mid-game collapse. “We were put in a position, that I personally feel that we shouldn’t have been put in,” Schmeichel told Danish media at a press event in Helsingor north of Copenhagen. “We had two options,” Schmeichel explained. “Either come back the day after (Sunday) at noon or continue the game.” The Leicester City goalkeeper said he wished someone more senior would’ve said “that it wasn’t the time to take that decision, and that we should maybe wait until the day after to decide”. “What has happened has happened, and hopefully they’ll learn from this,” Schmeichel said, a...