Belgium's Golden Generation vies to live up to its billing as the Red Devils face off against tournament front-runners Brazil in Kazan, in an encounter brimming with superstar players on both sides.
06 July 2018
GAME OVER!
After five minutes added time, the referee blows the whistle, and Belgium's bench runs onto the pitch in ecstasy. Both teams were brilliant today, but Brazil will rueing their shambolic finishing, while Belgium make their first World Cup since 1986.
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Save of the game if Belgium wins. Courtois uses his gigantic length to tip away a one-time shot from Neymar. Nothing comes from the corner.
Hazard has been a valuable outlet for the Red Devils in these closing minutes, repeatedly getting past several men, and eating up valuable time.
Lukaku, who has been very dangeorous despite the miscues, is off, midfielder Tielemans is on. This is desperate holding on stuff from Martinez. Two minutes to added time.
A bad miss in a game full of them. Neymar races in space down the left, beats the defender and delivers a cross to Coutinho, who first-times it in a ridiculous slice that goes harmlessly wide. He has his head in his hands on the floor.
A substitution for Belgium in an attempt to plug the floodgates. Vermaelen comes on for the more attacking Chadli.
Hazard races away for a four against two, but passes weakly to an open man to his left. This will be a test of Belgium's character. It is too late on to fail without it being questioned.
GOAL! BRAZIL!
From what looked like an accurate but not particularly fast cross from Coutinho, an unmarked Renato Augusto jumps between two Belgium defenders, who appear to have lost concentration from the strain of defending several dozen chances. It had begun to look hopeless for the five-time champions.
A standard substitution for this tournament - Paulinho is replaced by another midfielder, Renato Augusto.
In a rare occurrence at this level of football, Lukaku runs straight off the pitch with the ball at full pace, making no apparent attempt to control it.
Meunier is subsequently given a yellow card, for a hard foul on Neymar. He will miss the next match.
The director is beginning to pick out requisite shots of Brazilian fans looking sad in the stands.
Belgium have what appears to be the first positional attack on the opposition half since the break. They roll the ball around harmlessly, now very conscious that less than half an hour remains.
Yet when Belgium do break, it is another gold-plated chance, as Hazard chooses to shoot across the keeper rather than try Lukaku, who is racing into the area.
Brazil counter immediately, with Douglas Costa looking lively, and Coutinho finding frustration again.
Belgium are playing with fire by failing to clear their lines repeatedly, giving Brazil one crack after another.
That was Jesus's last attempt to play the savior. He is replaced by winger Douglas Costa.
On top of all the excitement, VAR. Gabriel Jesus tumbles over after nutmegging a defender, but he pushed the ball out of bounds before he fell. No penalty.
Rather than the lightning-quick attacks that tore apart Belgium in the first half, this is now more of a sustained siege.
Neymar makes what looks like a more convincing than usual fall inside the area, near the vicinity of Fellaini's feet, but the ref is once again indifferent. The correct call.
While the Red Devils have more men behind the ball in this half, the basic pattern hasn't changed. Once again a player in red receives a ball in a dangerous position with plenty of room, but on this occasion Lukaku makes the sheer act of running with the ball look like a titanic struggle.
Alderweireld receives the first yellow card of the game for a tactical foul in midfield.
The teams kick off again. Brazil's worker bee - in attack and defense - Willian is off, replaced by Roberto Firmino.
Most of the social media reaction to the match so far has been less about tactical analysis, and more sheer emotional outpouring, colored by personal sympathies.
HALF-TIME!
Most have been waiting for the inevitable lull that never came during a geniunely - no hype - pulsating, end-to-end half. The coaches will probably like to have a talk with them. And Roberto Martinez might have more to say to his charges than Tite, who will hope that chances will turn into goals against a porous defense.
Neymar falls after a tussle in the area, but the ref, who had a perfect near view, tells him to get up. Feeling is he won't be getting these so easily. He has another chance a minute later, but it is flagged offside.
It is a testament to the number of chances in this game, when a spectacular tipped save from a de Bruyne free kick elicits a sigh of disappointment. We have been spoiled.
Brazil can argue that they've had more chances, and more dangerous ones. But their finishing has not been up to par, and they are losing their defensive discipline as they chase the game, which is generally out of character for this side.
Still, the chances keep flowing for the yellow shirts, and Belgium wouldn't be a good bet to bolt the door and hold on.
The most dangerous is a Coutinho curler pushed for a corner, and before then a deflection Courtois had to palm away.
GOAL!
Just as we mentioned that de Bruyne failed to reproduce his club form, he produces a stunning laser shot into the corner.
The attack starts with Lukaku, who handles the ball awkwardly in his own half, but then races about 50 meters unimpeded, before feeding the City midfielder, who looks up and knows exactly what he is doing.
One of at least four Afro-sporting players on the pitch, Marcelo, launches an attack down the left, and sends a low shot towards the keeper, which cannons of Courtois's hands, but is cleared.
Belgium still look dangerous on the break. Hazard runs into acres of space, before laying into off to right back Meunier, who crosses it into the defender's feet.
A couple of minutes later de Bruyne's similar drive ends up with Lukaku, who attempts an overambitious nutmeg inside the area, that would have put him one-on-one with the keeper.
Philippe Coutinho, who has arguably been the South Americans' best player so far in Russia, tests Courtois from distance, but can't put his trademark curl on it, as the ball flies straight into the keeper's hands.
Brazil want one back right now. Neymar breaks down the left, and Gabriel Jesus fails to find the net in what seems to be the third or fourth goalmouth scramble.
GOAL!
Belgium push back, and off a corner Vincent Kompany misses his header, which instead hits club mate Fernandinho, who redirects it into his own net, past a helplessly flailing Alisson. Game on.
This is wide-open football, particularly in the Belgium area, with two consecutive chances that required better finishes, particularly from Paulinho, who can strike it well.
The red shirts look in panic retreating.
Thiago Silva misses a chance from no more than two yards out, hitting it straight into Courtois after a corner. He failed to makes proper contact.
Belgium strikes back with a dangerous counter of its own.
The first Neymar head-clutching fall of the day, though in fairness he was clattered by Fellaini, likely to be at the heart of many similar incidents during the match.
First shot - a wide one - comes from Kevin de Bruyne, who has failed to replicate the sparkling individual moments of brilliance from Manchester City in the tournament so far, but remains a key player pulling the strings.
Neymar, who is destined to be at the center of the drama tonight regardless of the outcome, kicks off.
While Brazil has delivered increasingly confident performances in its last two matches, defeating Serbia and Mexico, and Belgium's winner at the death against Japan showed character for a side often characterized as Fancy Dans, to be honest neither side has played a truly top-shelf opponent so far.
Welcome to what promises to be one of the most eagerly-awaited games of Russia 2018.
Both of these teams have line-ups worthy of the World Cup final, but only one will go through to face France on Tuesday in St.Petersburg.
For Belgium, heroes of its comeback win against Belgium Marouane Fellaine and Nacer Chadli are in the starting eleven in place of Dries Mertens and Yannick Carrasco.
For Brazil, left wing-back Marcelo has recovered from his bed-related incident, and Fernandinho replaces the suspended Casemiro in midfield.