Belgium Qualify for 2018 World Cup with 2-1 Win over Greece
Belgium battled to a 2-1 win in Athens against Greece on Sunday, booking their spot in the 2018 FIFA World Cup along the way.
The Greeks frustrated Belgium throughout the first half, barely giving up any space. Things hardly improved after the break, until Jan Vertonghen blasted a great shot from distance with 20 minutes left to play.
Zeca pulled his side level minutes later, but Romelu Lukaku restored the advantage with a great header.
Here's a look at the teamsheet, via Bart Lagae of Het Nieuwsblad:
Greece―who gave the Belgians all they could handle in the first match in Brussels―started with plenty of intensity, pressing high and forcing their opponents into tons of mistakes. Striker Anastasios Donisgave Thomas Vermaelen all kinds of problems with his speed and fired the first chance of the match at Thibaut Courtois.
The Chelsea stopper made a fantastic save to deny Konstantinos Stafylidis, who surprised everyone with an early shot from a tricky angle. Courtois got a hand on it, doing just enough to push the ball onto the post.
The team's official Twitter account shared this photo of the spectacular save:
On the other side of the pitch, Jan Vertonghen tried his luck with an ambitious shot, but Orestis Karnezis was barely troubled. Greece frustrated the Belgians for the full half, and the Red Devils never really threatened.
The final chance of the first half fell to Konstantinos Fortounis, but Courtois read the situation well and got a hand on the ball.
Things didn't improve at the start of the second half, and Thomas Meunier was booked after just four minutes for a late charge into Donis. Greece held the upper hand, and Yannick Carrasco had to move fast to stop Zeca.
Meunier almost connected with a good cross from Toby Alderweireld just before the hour mark, and the Red Devils started to control the ball more and prod deep into the Greek half. The Devils' account noted there were a lot of tough duels going on:
Belgium kept pushing and finally found the breakthrough after 70 minutes, courtesy of a fantastic strike from distance from Vertonghen.
But the Greeks did not let up and found an equaliser almost immediately, as Carrasco lost his man and Zeca easily pushed home a cross.
All of a sudden, the match exploded. Lukaku powered home a cross from Meunier less than two minutes after the equaliser, continuing his great run, per Kristof Terreur of HLN:
And one minute later, there were handbags after a charge from Carrasco into his marker, with the Greeks hounding the official. The Atletico Madrid man was given a yellow card, but the home fans were not satisfied.
Greece were powerless to mount a late offensive, and the best chances fell to Belgium, with Lukaku and Dries Mertens missing good looks. It hardly mattered, as the Red Devils easily defended their lead.
