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Belgium has eliminated Brazil out of the Russia 2018 World Cup. Belgium has therefore advanced to semi-final.
They will face France in the semi-final.
“Brazil have so much finesse and you know that they can cut you open. But I didn’t think for one second that the players would give up.
“They’ve done something special tonight and I hope everyone in Belgium is very, very proud. It has created a nice memory and we should treasure it.
“But now we need more energy for our next game to try to make sure we’re just as good in the semi-finals.”
Those were the words of Belgian coach, Roberto Martinez right after the match.
Renato Augusto is usually the player who comes in to help the team as a facilitator in the midfield, to boost ball possession and calm things down.
Today, he sparked a dramatic finale in Kazan with a header that any striker would be proud of, though it wasn’t enough to save the home-bound South Americans.
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With Brazil and Uruguay bidding farewell today, the rest of the World has now become a European affair as the Trophy has surely ended its journey there.
The last time we had an all-European semi-final line-up was in 2006 (Italy, France, Germany, Portugal).
Belgium did just enough to get through against an excellent Brazil team with bit of luck in the first half, and a lot of courage in the second.
The Red Devils have played better football than today but this victory was another tribute to their heart.
Brazil had never had two goals against during Tite’s coaching tenure. This was also only Tite’s second loss, in fact.
The team arrived in Russia aiming for the world title, but have been halted by a very strong Belgium team and a great goalkeeper in Courtuois.
With just a few seconds to go, Neymar would have equalised but Courtois produced a magnificent save to tip over the Brazil No10’s goalbound curling effort.
No matter the final result, A Seleção’s performance in this second half is something to be lauded.
The team desperately needed a goal, but have been able to chase it without panicking. That’s the result of good coaching.
