A sobering reality check for England. Chilling, you really have to say.
The manner with which Gareth Southgate’s team initially overwhelmed Tunisia in Volgograd on Monday night has been a source of optimism, yet this looked like something entirely different. It was nothing less than an evisceration, which left Belgium as the tournament’s joint top scorers.
Romelu Lukaku took his tally in these championships to four yet Eden Hazard was the supreme operator, at the very top of his game. By the 67th minute, both Lukaku and Hazard has been withdrawn, maximising their state of preparedness for England.
Belgium ran riot against Tunisia in Moscow on Saturday, netting five times to become the World Cup’s joint top scorers
Twenty-seven-year-old forward Eden Hazard was impressive in the victory, netting twice for the Group G leaders
Hazard (right) is fouled by Tunisia defender Syam Ben Youssef (left) just inside the box in the fifth minute in Moscow
Ben Youssef’s (right) clumsy challenge sent Hazard flying and had the referee pointing to the spot for a penalty kick
Chelsea star Hazard gives Belgium the lead from the penalty spot during the opening stages of Saturday’s Group G game
Hazard slots his penalty into the bottom left corner as Tunisia goalkeeper Farouk Ben Mustapha stays rooted to the spot
The 27-year-old Chelsea forward wheels away in celebration after breaking the deadlock at the Spartak Stadium
Axel Witsel (right) and Yannick Carrasco (centre) rush to congratulate Hazard after his first goal of the tournament
The frequency with which the North Africans gave up possession to the European side when not even under pressure was staggering to behold – turning their performance into one of the worst we have seen at this World Cup. Yet the way England’s next opponents exploited that was ruthless.
The Belgians required less than 120 seconds to put England’s lightning start against Tunisia into some kind of perspective.
Theno-hopers were squabbling between themselves as when first exposed to the blistering pace through the central areas which they simply could not cope with.
Thomas Meunier – the 26-year-old PSG player with whom English audiences may be far more acquainted with by the end of Thursday night’s encounter in Kaliningrad – measured a pass through the middle to Lukaku, who was just about held off.
Goalkeeper Farok Ben Mustapha wanted to know from the defender why the forward had been allowed through. A difference in pace had everything to do with it.
But Belgium were ahead on five minutes, when full-back Syan Ben Youssef lumbered into Hazard on the right hand side of the Tunisia box, bringing him to ground. The Chelsea player calmly converted the penalty, right-footed to Ben Mustapha’s left.
Romelu Lukaku (left) doubles Belgium’s lead with a cool finish after being played in by team-mate Dries Mertens
Tunisia stopper Ben Mustapha (centre) can only watch as Lukaku’s powerful strike nestles into the bottom corner
The Manchester United star celebrates after doubling Belgium’s lead in their second game of the World Cup finals in Russia
The 25-year-old forward (second right) celebrates with his team-mates after netting his third goal of the competition
Just moments later Dylan Bronn (2nd right) pulls one back for Tunisia with a glancing header from Wahbi Khazri’s free-kick
Bronn’s (right) well-placed header makes its way past a despairing Thiabut Courtois and into the bottom corner in Moscow
The Gent defender pumps his fist after halving the deficit midway through the first half of the Group G showdown
The Belgians snapped into top gear. Meunier sent Lukaku down the right flank and watched him deliver, short and precisely, a cross which Hazard snapped into with a first time flick.
The Tunisians were reduced to any available strategies to get a way into the match. Captain Wahbi Khazri’s claim that he had been hit in the face by Jan Vertonghen as they chased a ball into the area was crass. Ferjani Sassi’s tackle on Hazard was criminal and he was booked.
The way Belgium seized on Tunisia’s sloppiness to double their lead would have particularly been sobering for Gareth Southgate’s players to behold.
Poor control from Ali Maaloul on the Belgian right allowed Dries Mertens to seize possession, drive forward and navigate a precise pass left to Lukaku, whose angles were immaculate as he drove home through defender Ben Youssef’s legs.
Lukaku (left) bags his second goal of the game with a cheeky finish after being played through by Thomas Meunier
Ben Musthapha (right) can only watch on as Lukaku’s chipped effort makes its way into the net moments before half-time
The 25-year-old striker (right) celebrates with Meunier (centre) and Mertens after scoring his fourth goal of the tournament
There are a few pressure points for England to take heart from. The Belgian flanks can get overrun in the 3-4-3 they play.
A central defence with Dedryk Boyata at the heart of it is, with respect, not the greatest. Boyata was some way off getting a head on a Khazri free-kick on 18 minutes and Dylan Bronn, the Gent forward, was able to rise and head home.
The Celtic defender was also booked for a challenge as substitute Naim Sliti threatened to escape him in the second half. The Belgians seem hopeful that Vincent Kompany will play instead of Boyata on Thursday.
Tunisia’s glimmer of optimism was short-lived. On the brink of half-time, another mistake in possession on their right allowed de Bruyne to play a short ball to Meunier, who turned in the area and played in Lukaku. He clipped the ball deftly over Ben Mustapha to score.
Hazard (left) rounds Tunisia goalkeeper Ben Mustapha (centre) on his way to scoring his second goal of the match
The Chelsea star finishes into an open goal to seal the three points for his team at the Spartak Stadium on Saturday
Hazard wheels away in celebration after giving Belgium a three-goal lead in their second game of the tournament
Belgium boss Roberto Martinez pumps his fist after watching his side take an unassailable lead in Saturday’s Group G game
The fourth goal was in keeping with all that had gone before. De Bruyne lifted the ball 30 yards to Hazard who required two preparatory touches – chest control, right foot flick over the advancing Ben Mustapha – before striking it, left-footed into the net.
Substitute Michy Batshuayi could have single-handedly added a hat-trick within ten minutes of arriving for Hazard. His shot across the face of goal, after De Bruyne had sent him in, was cleared off the line by Yassins Meriah. He hit the bar after Ben Mustapha spilled a saved to his feet. And a volley from yet another De Bruyne cross was well saved.
But Batshuayi finally did get his goal when Yannick Carraco’s cross sailed over the defence and the CHelsea player drove it home. Khazri scored again at the death, meeting substitute Hamdi Naguez’s cross from the right, but there was no disguising the statement of intent. An emphatic message had been sent out to Belgium’s next opponents.
Ben Mustapha (left) can only stand and watch as Michy Batshuayi (right) scores Belgium’s fifth goal of the afternoon
The Chelsea forward roars with delight after putting the finishing touch on his team’s dominant display in Russia
Wahbi Khazri (left) bags a consolation for Tunisia with one of the last touches of the game at the Spartak Stadium