He assisted Dries Mertens' winning goal in the team's first game of the tournament, a 2–1 win against Algeria in Belo Horizonte.
(meta data) TITLE: Belgium 2-1 Algeria - BBC Sport (meta data) PUBLISHED DATETIME: 2014-06-17 Homepage ## Accessibility links BBCSPORT All Sport All Sport My Sport Home Football Formula 1 Cricket Rugby U Rugby L Tennis Golf Athletics BBC Sport Home Football Formula 1 Cricket Rugby Union Rugby League Tennis Golf Athletics My Sport ### A-Z Sports American Football Athletics Basketball Boxing Cricket Cycling Darts Disability Sport Football Formula 1 Gaelic Games Get Inspired Golf Gymnastics Horse Racing Mixed Martial Arts Motorsport Netball Olympic Sports Rugby League Rugby Union Snooker Swimming Tennis Winter Sports Full Sports A-Z ### Events Winter Olympics Commonwealth Games Men's World Cup Women's World Cup ### Around the UK England Scotland Wales Northern Ireland Programmes Match of the Day 5 Live Sport Sports Personality Sport on the BBC All Programmes Football FIFA World Cup Groups & Schedule Scores & Fixtures Top Scorers All Scores & Fixtures All Teams Leagues & Cups Groups & Schedule Scores & Fixtures Top Scorers FIFA World Cup Home More from Football All Scores & Fixtures All Teams Leagues & Cups Football Home TUE 17 Jun 2014World Cup - Group HBelgium2Algeria1Fellaini (70' minutes), Mertens (80' minutes)FTHT 0-1Feghouli (24' minutes pen) By Saj Chowdhury BBC Sport 17 Jun 2014 From the section 2014 Fifa World Cup Media playback is not supported on this device Highlights: Belgium 2-1 Algeria Goals from Marouane Fellaini and Dries Mertens saw Belgium come from behind to beat Algeria in their World Cup Group H opener in Belo Horizonte. The north African side took a shock lead when Sofiane Feghouli scored from the spot after being fouled by Tottenham defender Jan Vertonghen. Manchester United's Fellaini, a second-half substitute, equalised with a looping header shortly after coming on. And Mertens scored the winner when he finished off a swift counter-attack. The 80th-minute strike prompted an eruption of relief from the Belgium bench, not least from coach Marc Wilmots, who had spent most of the match looking understandably pensive. ## Match facts Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku failed to register a single touch in the opposition areaAlgeria ended a run of 506 minutes without a goal at the World Cup finalsThibaut Courtois is yet to lose a match he has played for Belgium (W11 D7) and has kept 10 clean sheets in 18 games His side had 65% possession but for most of the game found it difficult to penetrate an Algeria defence marshalled by former Rangers centre-half Madjid Bougherra. The European side, the seeded team in the group and widely tipped to do well in Brazil after an impressive qualifying campaign, fielded an imposing starting XI, with the Chelsea pair of Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku in attack, while Spurs' Mousa Dembele and former Chelsea man Kevin de Bruyne sat in midfield. Pre-tournament fifth favourites with some bookmakers, they looked anything but for 69 minutes. They were rocked in the 24th minute when forward Feghouli was hauled down by Vertonghen in the area as he aimed to convert Faouzi Ghoulam's cross. The Valencia player recovered to sidefoot a tame penalty past another Blues player Thibaut Courtois, who dived the wrong way. That was Algeria's first World Cup goal since 1986 - 506 minutes of football. Belgium's best early chances were from long distance and fell to Zenit St Petersburg's Axel Witsel, who had two efforts saved before failing to convert a header. ## Match analysis "It was a massive win for Belgium. My only concern is, centre-forward wise, do they have one to fire them to the semi-final? I'm not sure they do." The pattern changed with the Belgium substitutions. First to test the goal was 19-year-old Lille striker Divock Origi, who forced a brilliant low save from Rais Mbolhi. Gaps began to grow in a tiring Algeria defence, and a fresh Fellaini took advantage of that when he outmuscled marker Carl Medjani and flicked his effort beyond the reach of Mbolhi. The winner came from a move that showed off Belgium's attack at its best. De Bruyne tackled Feghouli in his own half and when the ball found its way to Hazard on the left, the PFA young player of the year sped down the wing and fed Mertens, who slammed his shot high into the net. Belgium almost grabbed a third through Fellaini, but Mbolhi produced another good save from point-blank range. Belgium coach Marc Wilmots: "It was a tough match but we were patient throughout and at the end we were rewarded. "We stayed calm after doing a small mistake in the first half. We got a new momentum. We saw that Algeria were getting more and more tired. At half-time people were a bit down, but I said 'don't worry, we will score and we will change totally the match'." Algeria coach Vahid Halilhodzic: "It's a major disappointment. I would have liked to have a couple of tougher and more resilient players to resist their attacks but I don't have much of a choice. "We missed a great opportunity here. But in the second half it was a bit tough. We left too much space to the Belgian team and the two goals scored against us were to be expected." Tottenham defender Vertonghen protested against the card and penalty decision in Estadio Mineirao Feghouli ended Algeria's barren World Cup run in the 24th minute Belgium supporters packed an arena in Antwerp to watch the match unfold on a big screem Fellaini scored Belgium's first goal at a World Cup since they were last in the competition in 2002 Match-winner Mertens scored 11 goals for Napoli last seasonLine-upsMatch StatsLive Text ## Line-ups ### Belgium 1Courtois2Alderweireld5VertonghenBooked at 24mins19DembéléSubstituted forFellainiat 65'minutes15van Buyten4Kompany7De Bruyne6Witsel9LukakuSubstituted forOrigiat 58'minutes22ChadliSubstituted forMertensat 45'minutes10E Hazard #### Substitutes 3Vermaelen8Fellaini11Mirallas12Mignolet13Bossut14Mertens16Defour17Origi18Lombaerts20Januzaj21Vanden Borre23Ciman ### Algeria 23M'Bolhi22Mostefa3Ghoulam12MedjaniSubstituted forGhilasat 84'minutes2Bougherra5Halliche10Feghouli19Taïder15SoudaniSubstituted forSlimaniat 66'minutes14BentalebBooked at 33mins21MahrezSubstituted forLacenat 71'minutes #### Substitutes 1Mohamed4Belkalem6Mesbah7Yebda8Lacen9Ghilas11Brahimi13Slimani16Zemmamouche17Cadamuro18Djabou20MandiReferee:Marco RodríguezAttendance:56,800 ## Match Stats Home TeamBelgiumAway TeamAlgeriaPossessionHome67%Away33%ShotsHome17Away3Shots on TargetHome8Away1CornersHome7Away2FoulsHome20Away18 ## Live Text Posted at Match ends, Belgium 2, Algeria 1. ### Full Time Posted at 90'+4' Second Half ends, Belgium 2, Algeria 1. Posted at 90'+3' Foul by Axel Witsel (Belgium). Posted at 90'+3' Faouzi Ghoulam (Algeria) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Posted at 90'+2' Corner, Belgium. Conceded by Faouzi Ghoulam. Posted at 90'+1' Axel Witsel (Belgium) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Posted at 90'+1' Foul by Nabil Ghilas (Algeria). Posted at 90'+1' Foul by Eden Hazard (Belgium). Posted at 90'+1' Mehdi Mostefa (Algeria) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Posted at 90' Axel Witsel (Belgium) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Posted at 90' Foul by Saphir Taïder (Algeria). Posted at 89' Foul by Divock Origi (Belgium). Posted at 89' Madjid Bougherra (Algeria) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Posted at 88' Offside, Belgium. Vincent Kompany tries a through ball, but Marouane Fellaini is caught offside. Posted at 86' Foul by Dries Mertens (Belgium). Posted at 86' Saphir Taïder (Algeria) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Posted at 85' Eden Hazard (Belgium) wins a free kick on the left wing. Posted at 85' Foul by Nabil Bentaleb (Algeria). ### Substitution Posted at 84' Substitution, Algeria. Nabil Ghilas replaces Carl Medjani. Posted at 84' Corner, Belgium. Conceded by Rais M'Bolhi. Posted at 84' Attempt saved. Marouane Fellaini (Belgium) header from the centre of the box is saved in the top left corner. Assisted by Toby Alderweireld with a cross. Posted at 82' Eden Hazard (Belgium) wins a free kick on the left wing. Posted at 82' Foul by Mehdi Mostefa (Algeria). ### Goal! Posted at 80' Goal! Belgium 2, Algeria 1. Dries Mertens (Belgium) right footed shot from the right side of the box to the top right corner. Assisted by Eden Hazard following a fast break. Posted at 79' Foul by Dries Mertens (Belgium). Posted at 79' Mehdi Lacen (Algeria) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Posted at 78' Attempt blocked. Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Eden Hazard. Posted at 76' Foul by Marouane Fellaini (Belgium). Posted at 76' Carl Medjani (Algeria) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Posted at 75' Offside, Belgium. Kevin De Bruyne tries a through ball, but Marouane Fellaini is caught offside. Posted at 73' Attempt missed. Daniel van Buyten (Belgium) header from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Dries Mertens with a cross following a corner. Posted at 73' Corner, Belgium. Conceded by Rafik Halliche. Posted at 72' Jan Vertonghen (Belgium) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Posted at 72' Foul by Islam Slimani (Algeria). ### Substitution Posted at 71' Substitution, Algeria. Mehdi Lacen replaces Riyad Mahrez. ### Goal! Posted at 70' Goal! Belgium 1, Algeria 1. Marouane Fellaini (Belgium) header from the centre of the box to the top right corner. Assisted by Kevin De Bruyne with a cross. Posted at 67' Corner, Belgium. Conceded by Rafik Halliche. Posted at 66' Attempt saved. Divock Origi (Belgium) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Jan Vertonghen with a headed pass. ### Substitution Posted at 66' Substitution, Algeria. Islam Slimani replaces Soudani. Posted at 66' Attempt missed. Jan Vertonghen (Belgium) left footed shot from the left side of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Kevin De Bruyne. ## Find out more ### 2014 World Cup groups & schedule Read more on 2014 World Cup groups & schedule ### 2014 World Cup - BBC Features & Video Read more on 2014 World Cup - BBC Features & Video ### Fifa World Cup Read more on Fifa World Cup ## Scores, Results & Fixtures ### Tuesday 17th June 2014 #### Group A #### Group H BelgiumBelgium2AlgeriaAlgeria1FTRussiaRussia1South KoreaSouth Korea1FT ## As It Stood ## A TeamPWDLFAGDPts1Brazil211031242Mexico211010143Cameroon100101-104Croatia100113-20 ## B TeamPWDLFAGDPts1Netherlands110051432Chile110031233Australia100113-204Spain100115-40 ## C TeamPWDLFAGDPts1Colombia110030332Ivory Coast110021133Japan100112-104Greece100103-30 ## D TeamPWDLFAGDPts1Costa Rica110031232Italy110021133England100112-104Uruguay100113-20 ## E TeamPWDLFAGDPts1France110030332Switzerland110021133Ecuador100112-104Honduras100103-30 ## F TeamPWDLFAGDPts1Argentina110021132Iran101000013Nigeria101000014Bos-Herze100112-10 ## G TeamPWDLFAGDPts1Germany110040432USA110021133Ghana100112-104Portugal100104-40 ## H TeamPWDLFAGDPts1Belgium110021132Russia000000003South Korea000000004Algeria100112-10 ## Top Stories ### 'It feels like the Ashes are gone' 23 Aug From the section Cricket Read more on 'It feels like the Ashes are gone' ### Bury owner Dale says club has been sold 24 Aug From the section Football Read more on Bury owner Dale says club has been sold ### Villa win for first points of season 23 Aug From the section Football Read more on Villa win for first points of season ## Related to this story ### Watch highlights from the first round of group matches 20 Jun 2014 From the section 2014 Fifa World Cup Read more on 2014 Fifa World Cup: Highlights from first round of group matches ### Belgium v Algeria - watch again (UK only) 23 May 2014 From the section 2014 Fifa World Cup Read more on World Cup 2014: Belgium v Algeria ### How Belgium built their golden generation 16 Jun 2014 From the section 2014 Fifa World Cup Read more on World Cup 2014: How Belgium built their golden generation ### Lawro's World Cup predictions 22 Jun 2014 From the section 2014 Fifa World Cup Read more on World Cup 2014: Lawro's predictions - second group games ### Today at the World Cup: Day six 16 Jun 2014 From the section 2014 Fifa World Cup Read more on World Cup 2014: Today at the tournament - day six ### Guide to World Cup Group H 23 May 2014 From the section 2014 Fifa World Cup Read more on 2014 Fifa World Cup: Guide to Belgium's Group H ## Get Inspired Find ways to get active How to get involved in just about any sport or activity Find a club, activity or sport near you Back to top
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Eden Hazard
International career.:2014 World Cup and Euro 2016.
Hazard made nine appearances in the "Red Devils'" successful 2014 World Cup qualification campaign, scoring twice. The first of these came on 22 March against the Republic of Macedonia at the Philip II Arena, converting a penalty to conclude a 2–0 win after being fouled by Aleksandar Lazevski. Three days later in the reverse fixture, he beat two defenders before scoring the only goal of the game. 
 On 13 May 2014, Hazard was named in Belgium's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.