Day 5: Belgium and England get the job done

Yesterday, it was finally time for the Belgian national team to play their first match of this World Cup. They 'hosted' debutants Panama in the city Sotsji, notorious for it's warm temperatures and apparently the grass that is too long. The favorites had all struggled in their opening match, so it was to hope Belgium could make a better impression. But no way Panama was gonna cause any troubles, right? Well, the result was there in the end but, Panama proved to be hard nut to crack.

There were no surprises in the starting eleven from Belgium. Kompany and Vermaelen weren't fit enough to start yet, Boyata was the expected back-up in the three-man defense. The start was promising, Carrasco got the first chance within the first 10 minutes, but his shot was easily saved by goalkeeper Penedo. Only a minute later, Mertens attempted a shot but again saved by the goalkeeper. A third big chance was gifted by the big captain Torres but Hazard couldn't get it on target. The opening goal seemed to take just a matter of minutes. After Mertens his shot from a corner ended in the sidenet and a cross from De Bruyne was nicked away just in time from Lukaku by Torres, the score remained 0-0 after 20 minutes. That seemed to be a miracle at that point. The many chances in the beginning masked away the fact that the combinations of the Belgian team were a bit rusty at times. Panama bravely stood their ground but couldn't create much themselves. A few more chances before the break, but Hazard- far below his usual standards- Lukaku and Mertens couldn't get it past the goalkeeper. Scoreless at the break. Was it gonna be one of those days?

No, it wasn't. The redeeming goal came only minutes into the second half. A cross from Mertens got dealt with by the Panamese defense at first glance, but felt invitingly for Mertens again who did not hesitate and finished with a beautiful one-time volley. One of the goals of the tournament so far, nothing Penedo could do this time! If you thought Belgium would built on that first goal to finish Panama off, you had to wait 20 more minutes. It was even Panama who was the most threatening for a while. The hearts of the Belgian fans stood still when rightback Murillo came in a one-on-one situation with Courtois, who showed that even in games you completely dominate, you still need a good goalkeeper. Time for a second goal. That one arrived with 20 minutes left, when De Bruyne crossed it perfectly for Lukaku, who headed it in the corner. Panama was knocked out now, especially when 5 minutes later Hazard played in Lukaku, who lobbed his second of the match over the goalkeeper. 3-0, more or less the score we expected. Panama tried to get a consolation goal, but Courtois was there when he had to be. The first three points were in the pocket. Far from the perfect performance, but that's not necessary in the first match. Credits to Panama, they defended themselves bravely and the game was tougher than expected.

The victory meant we could watch the England game relaxed. We secretly hoped for a draw from Tunisia. That was a far from unlikely scenario when Harry Kane put England in front after their furious start. When the Tunisian goalkeeper had to be taken off injured after just 20 minutes, it didn't look good for the North African side. At that point, it could have been 3-0 or 4-0 for England already. I mentioned in the Peru-Denmark game that who doesn't finish off their chances gets punished, and England proved it again. 10 minutes before the break, Kyle Walker gifted Tunisia a penalty after a ridiculous foul in the box. Sassi was happy to accept the gift and the unlikely equalizer was there. England kept wasting the chances, the young Manchester United midfielder Lingard could have scored a hattrick in the first half. 1-1 at half time, after England played some of the best football we've seen so far at this World Cup. The level of England dropped deeply in the second half. Their pace was gone and Tunisia stood ground quite comfortably. When everyone had settled for a draw, Harry Kane was there to the rescue. Almost a copy from his first goal, when he showed up on the second post after a corner. A combination of the striker instinct of Kane and poor defending from Tunisia. Set pieces seem to be the weakness of Belgian's next opponent. Kane provided the efficiency the rest of his team lacked: 2 goals from 2 shots. England got the points they needed as well. With Belgium and England probably gonna battle it out for the first place on the last matchround, it will be interesting to see how many England can score against Panama.

The first game of the day was Sweden-South Korea in Group F. After a quite boring game, Sweden won with a penalty. Sweden goes on top in the group along with Mexico, which means it will already be do or die for Germany in their next game against Sweden on Saturday.