One team knocked out after another! You know its crunch time when favourites are falling, and even in this topsy-turvy FIFA World Cup in Russia, the fall of Brazil at the quarterfinal stage remains one of the biggest stories.
The stacked deck of Neymar, Coutinho, Firmino and the rest couldn’t put more than one goal past Belgian shot-stopper Thibaut Courtois. Instead, it was the Belgian trio of Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku and Kevin de Bruyne who were more effective on the night, especially on the counterattack. De Bruyne’s stellar finish for the second goal ensured Belgium go through to the semifinals.
This is Belgium’s first appearance at the World Cup semifinals since 1986, when Best Young Player Enzo Scifo and Golden Glove winner Jean-Marie Pfaff steered them to a fourth place finish.
Brazil’s 2018 campaign came to a hasty end after being pegged as the favourites, with other superpowers like Germany and Argentina failing to make it past prior hurdles. This will be the first time that the semi-finals of the World Cup will not feature any of these three teams.
Belgium will be hoping to go further than ever before when they face off against 1998 winners France for a spot in the finals, on Tuesday, 10 July.
(For complete FIFA World Cup 2018 coverage, click here to visit our special WC page)
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