Lukaku scores twice as Belgium beats Ireland 3-0

“We had to react as a team, as a group and everybody did their job”, Lukaku said.

“All I do know is what we have to try to do ourselves – we have to try to win the game and that can be our only thought”.

“Sometimes you need a setback because we have a young squad. If we do what we need to do on the pitch, then everything will be good”. “They’re a great side and have a great coach”.

“We criticised Turkey last night for a very similar performance”.

Martin O’Neill’s mem were quickly undone in early the second half when the Belgians broke away on the counter attack to the lead through Romelau Lukaku.

Romelu Lukaku’s finishing was deadly, but he was indebted to the work of the men behind him for his opportunities and Kevin de Bruyne was instrumental in most of Belgium’s most impressive work.

A tepid first half with few chances for both sides suggested the game could be won by a single goal, but Belgium turned on the style in the second half, with Lukaku finding the net three minutes after the restart.

In an attempt to claw back the arrears, Ireland took a more attacking posture, but the team was once again caught out by a pacey Belgian counterattack.

“I know I’ve had a good season, I’ve had a good preparation and I’m very calm; the team as well”.

Witsel heaped praise on Lukaku, saying his teammate should have been named man of the match instead, for his two goals. We did well in training and I wanted technical players today. “And we came out with the right reponse”.

“Yes, I bluffed. The players were aware of this, they were all aware”.

The defeat against Italy had raised renewed question marks over whether Belgium’s supposed “golden generation” of players could deliver on a tournament stage.

Whether you play this kid left-back or left wing, he is now the star for Ireland, he keeps producing all the time and could be key against Italy.

The Irish suffered a setback in their opening game against Sweden when Ciaran Clark’s own goal denied them three points in a game they looked certain to win. It is likely that, since the terror attack was planned to target fans watching the match between Belgium and the Republic of Ireland teams this afternoon, Belgium, Ireland, and nations across Europe will remain on a high security alert due to the threat of terrorism.

Indeed, it’s hard to imagine such a limited side as Belgium living up to their pre-tournament billing as one of the favourites and winning the competition, though whether that makes Ireland’s performance in defeat more or less underwhelming is debatable.