Belgium beat Finland 2:0 and it’s clear. The Czechs are officially in the eight finals!

Belgium was already assured of advancing, while the Finns needed a draw to secure a place in the eight finals. But Kevin De Bruyne was the man in charge and pulled the Belgians to a 2-0 victory.

Belgium changed their line-up slightly, but still put together a very strong squad. From the start of the game they held the ball more, the Finns were in a compact block, but didn’t enjoy the ball too much.

In the first half, the Belgians produced 8 shots, their opponent not even one. The biggest danger for Lukáš Hrádecký’s goal was the duo De Bruyne – Lukaku.

The Manchester City midfielder tried to look for Lukaku in every situation when he had the ball on the ball. Once, he sent him on a perpendicular into the penalty area, but the Inter goalkeeper missed the target. Moments later, De Bruyne sent a fluffy centre into the box from deep inside the box, Lukaku’s header was caught by Hradecky.

In the 42nd minute, the young Jeremy Doku made his debut.The 19-year-old Rennes winger was very active and just before half-time he evaded his opponent in the whitewash and shot at the back post.

In the 64th minute, De Bruyne took advantage of a disjointed Finnish defence and a cross found Hazard in the box, but he shot just wide of the centre.

A minute later, De Bruyne’s activity was finally put to good use. A beautiful pass found Lukaku between the stoppers, who took the ball and beat Hradecky. But the Belgian joy was spoiled by the video referee who found a millimetre offside.

Two minutes later, however, the Belgians were rightly rejoicing. And once again it was Kevin De Bruyne. The Belgian Red Devils star found Vermaelen from a corner, whose header ended up on the crossbar, but then Hradecky was unlucky to knock the ball into the net.

The most active duo in the match, however, still came through in the end. With ten minutes to go, Kevin de Bruyne found Lukaku in the whitewash, who set up the ball and beat Hradecky with his right foot. That’s all that happened in the match and Belgium moves up from first place with nine points.

This result, together with Denmark’s victory over Russia (4::1), definitely moves the Czech national team into the eighth round of the Euros. After today’s results, the Czech Republic can no longer finish in a non-advancing place.

Source: UEFA EURO 2020