Euro 2016 Quarterfinal #2

Wales 3, Belgium 1
Goals: Radja Nainggolan (BEL) 13’, Ashley Williams (WAL) 31’, Hal Robson-Kanu (WAL) 55’, Sam Vokes (WAL) 86’

General Thoughts:

• It was fair to expect lots of great scoring chances going into this game, as these are the two highest-scoring teams in the tournament.[1]
• How fortunate it was for Belgium to be placed in this game for the quarterfinals? It was in the Lille area, only ten minutes from the Belgian border.
• That was an amazing defensive stand by Wales in the seventh minute to withstand the barrage of Belgian shots.
• What a goal by Belgian midfielder Radja Nainggolan in the 13th minute! He blasted a laser from over 20 yards out!  Amazing!
• Boy, the referee was quick to show cards early on, wasn’t he?
• Great save by Belgian keeper Thibault Courtois on a blast from Welsh in the 26th minute. That looked like a sure goal to equalize.
• The corner that led to Welsh fullback Ashley Williams’ headed equalizer in the 31st minute was placed just about perfectly.[2]
• Courtois made a nice save on Welsh superstar midfielder Gareth Bale’s breakaway shot from about 18 yards out in the 33rd minute.
• In the 43rd minute, Williams was wide open once again from six yards out, but put his header ten feet above the crossbar. What in the heck was the Belgian defense doing there?  Is someone going to guard him?  Ask Brazil’s 1998 World Cup squad what happens when you fail to guard an opponent right in front of the goal on cross attempts.[3]
• I wonder what Belgian manager Marc Wilmots said in the locker room during halftime, because Belgium had some great opportunities to take the lead early in the second half.
  • Forward Romulu Lukaku had a beautiful opportunity in the 48th minute but couldn’t control the header.
  • Forward Kevin De Bruyne had a nice shot at the goal in the 49th minute that went high.[4]
  • Midfielder Eden Hazard had a great shot opportunity in the 50th minute from the left side of the box that went wide right by a little bit.
  • In the 52nd minute, a high, looping cross to Lukaku at the edge of the 6-yard box was headed away nicely by Welsh captain Ashley Williams.
• Welsh forward Hal Robson-Kanu’s go-ahead goal in the 55th minute was one that will be talked about for quite some time. He received a cross near the penalty spot from Aaron Ramsey, controlled the ball, did a sick spin move to get free from all three Belgian defenders simultaneously, and then thumped the ball home with his left foot.  Sensational![5]
• Welsh fullback James Chester made a nice play in the 71st minute to block a dangerous cross from De Bruyne on the right side. Lukaku was in perfect position to guide that one into the net if Chester hadn’t intervened.
• How in the world was the challenge by Welsh defender Ben Davies on Romulu Lukaku in the 80th minute not a foul? Oh wait…it was, but the referee blew the call.  And it should have been Davies’ second yellow, which would have put Wales down a man.  Huge non-call there.
• In the 83rd minute, the referee’s non-call was dead-on. Nainggolan did a twisting dive in an attempt to win a penalty.  And then in the 84th, a ball deflected off of the Welsh defender.  Belgian appeals for a handball were unheeded, and rightly so.  It was clearly unintentional.
• And then in the 85th minute, a gorgeous cross into the box from Welsh fullback Chris Gunter was headed home nicely by forward Sam Vokes! Great goal!
• Great win for Wales here. It is a shame that Ben Davies and Aaron Ramsey are going to sit out the semifinals due to yellow cards.  It is absurd that the players get suspended after only two yellows, given that it is spread across five games.  It needs to be pushed to three.
• Wales became the first squad to reach the Euro semifinals in their tournament debut since Sweden did so when they hosted Euro 1992, when it was still an eight-team tournament. They are also the first British squad to make a major tournament semifinal since England did so when they hosted Euro 1996.

July 2, 2016, 3:31 am MST

 

[1] Going into the game, Belgium had eight goals and Wales had seven.

[2] Which Belgian was supposed to mark him?  He was more open than an open door.

[3] They’ll cringe.  They gave up two goals to the great Zinedine Zidane in the World Cup Final against France.  France won, 3-0, on their home soil to win what, so far, is their only World Cup.

[4] To be fair, Welsh goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey was in perfect position and probably would have made the save.

[5] I’ll bet that Pelé and Diego Maradona stood up in front of their televisions and applauded.