Kevin De Bruyne put Belgium up 2-0 by completing a counterattack led by Romelu Lukaku in the 31st minute.
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Belgium’s midfielder Marouane Fellaini (C) celebrates after scoring the equaliser, with Belgium’s midfielder Kevin De Bruyne (L) and Belgium’s midfielder Axel Witsel (R).
Brazil must pay close attention to Belgium’s attackers.
Their joke seems to have come back to bite them now.
Brazil came back strongly in the second half with an Augusto late header to beat Courtois.
Thibaut Courtois had a defiant message for his detractors after a fine display in Belgium’s quarter-final win over Brazil, adamant he proved himself after “unfair” criticism.
Belgium, which last reached the semifinals in 1986, will next face 1998 champion France in St. Petersburg.
The two other spots will be decided in Sunday’s quarterfinals which feature Russian Federation vs. Croatia and England vs. Sweden. The other two quarterfinal matches will be played Sunday. Brazil lost to France and the Netherlands in the quarter-finals of the 2006 and 2010 World Cups and was humiliated 7-1 by Germany in the semifinals four years ago at home. “Just treasure it and pass it down in the generations”. Hence, Brazil will have a lot of work to do if they want to maintain the match-winning streak over Belgium. I played and scored in that match and Belgium were a tricky opponent.
“I think I’m the proudest man on earth at the moment”, said Belgium’s Spanish coach Roberto Martinez.
Brazil entered today’s quarterfinals matchup as one of the clear favorites to hoist the 2018 World Cup trophy.
The game was open from start to finish, however, and while the Belgians held their slender 1-0 lead, they could just as easily have conceded three goals within the first 15 minutes. Unlike then – an eventual 4-1 victory over Uruguay – there was no comeback. “But we have to maintain our same way of playing, getting better every game, and that is what we will take into this match”. But as the referee started to seek a video review, Neymar appeared to urge against it.
Brazil never got going until the introduction of Augusto, who showed far more creativity and gave Philippe Coutinho the opportunity to slide a little farther forward and help in attack.
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Belgium also used intelligence to break up Brazil’s momentum as they kept possession in midfield, frustrating them and forcing them into giving away free kicks which cost the South Americans precious seconds. “This is something special”.
