Lukaku bags double as Belgium stun Ireland

Belgium started to put pressure immediately and created the first opportunity after 12 minutes. De Bruyne's delivery from a corner was flicked-on dangerously at the near post. It glanced across the face of goal but no one was at the far post as the opportunity went begging.

Mark Wilmots men went close again on the 20th minute when De Bruyne produced another excellent delivery into the area. O'Shea dived to meet it with a clearing header ahead of Lukaku. He winded up sending it straight to Hazard, but the Chelsea man lacked the composure to take advantage.

The Belgians kept building pressure and had a goal disallowed on the 24th minute. De Bruyne picked out Carrasco with a delightful through ball. The forward saw his effort strike the crossbar before tapping the rebound into the net. However, the assistant referee had his flag raised for an offside.

Throughout the rest of the first half, the Belgians kept pushing forward with their best chances coming from set pieces. However, they were not able to open the score. On the other hand, Ireland struggled to hold possession and never tested Courtois.

Belgium started the second half superbly and went in front on the 47th minute. De Bruyne did outstanding work on the right before picking out Lukaku, who busted forward and placed a splendid finish beyond Randolph.

Witsel doubled the score for Belgium on the 61st minute when he went past McCarthy, who was unaware of his presence, and sent a thumping header past Randolph on the end of Meunier's cross.

Nine minutes later, Lukaku scored Belgium’s third goal after Hazard skipped past a challenge marvelously and picked out Lukaku who went through on goal. The striker kept his composure and placed a simple finish past the Irish goalkeeper at the far post.

This result means that Belgium can believe again that they can go through if they play the same way against Sweden, while Ireland have to beat Italy to have any chance of making it to the last 16.

IRELAND starting line-up (4-5-1): Randolph; Coleman, O'Shea, Clark, Ward; Hendrick, Whelan, Hoolahan, McCarthy, Brady; Long.

BELGIUM starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Courtois; Meunier, Alderweireld, Vermaelen, Vertonghen; Witsel, Dembele; Carrasco, De Bruyne, Hazard; R. Lukaku.

Yellow cards

Hendrick (Ireland), Vermaelen (Belgium).

Referee

Cuneyt Cakir (Turkey)