Neymar’s Brazil on Friday crashed out of the World Cup, failing to erase the pain of their humiliation on home soil four years ago as Belgium beat them 2-1 to set up a semi-final against France.
Three of Belgium’s “golden generation” — Kevin de Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Eden Hazard — ran riot in the first half in Kazan, as the Red Devils showed impressive resilience to hold on in the second period in the face of incessant pressure.
“These boys deserve to be heroes in Belgium,” coach Roberto Martinez said. “The execution of the tactics was magnificent. It is special and we can’t let the people of Belgium down. We can pass that down the generations — beating Brazil.”
Photo: EPA
Coming into the match, Martinez acknowledged the gulf in World Cup pedigree between his side, who have never been further than the semi-finals, and their rivals.
However, after a bright start from Tite’s team, it was Belgium who looked the more dangerous, scoring through a Fernandinho own-goal in the 13th minute and increasing their lead with a superb De Bruyne strike just after the half-hour mark.
Tite threw on Liverpool forward Roberto Firmino for Willian at halftime and the famous yellow shirts poured forward in increasing desperation, only to find an impenetrable wall at the back.
Substitute Renato Augusto gave Brazil hope with just under a quarter of an hour to go with a deft header into the bottom-right corner of the net.
Neymar had a chance to equalize late in injury time, but Thibaut Courtois produced a magnificent save to tip over the curling effort.
Brazil will have to stand by and watch as a European side win it for the fourth time in a row.
“It’s a heavy, bitter feeling. This was very hard for us to swallow,” said Tite, who refused to be drawn on his future.
FRANCE 2, URUGUAY 0
Earlier, France became the first nation to book their place in the semi-finals, making an ominous statement of intent in easing past Uruguay 2-0.
Uruguay were dealt a devastating blow before kickoff, when Paris Saint-Germain forward Edinson Cavani was ruled out after failing to recover from the injury he picked up in the win against Portugal.
Deschamps said his side had “again raised our level” after the 4-3 win that ended Argentina’s campaign in the last 16.
“I have a good team that still has plenty of room for improvement,” he said. “You can see our lack of experience sometimes, but we have so many qualities too.”
Meanwhile, FIFA president Gianni Infantino told Russian President Vladimir Putin that visitors to the World Cup had fallen “in love with Russia,” during a meeting at the Kremlin.
“Everyone who has been here for a period of time now has discovered a country that we didn’t know,” Infantino said.
SSC Napoli will have to wait one more week to seal the Serie A title after on Sunday being held to a goalless draw at Parma, while closest rivals Inter drew 2-2 in a dramatic game with SS Lazio. Antonio Conte’s team stayed one point ahead of Inter and were unfortunate not to win after twice striking the woodwork through Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Matteo Politano, while Scott McTominay also had a free-kick tipped onto the crossbar. The away side thought they would be handed a chance to take the points from the penalty spot in the 96th minute when David Neres
Omar Marmoush’s stunning long-range strike on Tuesday upstaged Kevin de Bruyne on the Manchester City great’s Etihad farewell. Marmoush let fly from about 30m to put City ahead in their 3-1 win against AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League. The victory moved Pep Guardiola’s team up to third in the standings and left qualification for the UEFA Champions League in their own hands heading into the last round of the season. “It’s really important. To be in the Champions League after what happened [this season] will be really nice,” the City manager said. De Bruyne was making his final home appearance for City before
Brighton & Hove Albion’s Jack Hinshelwood on Monday sealed a dramatic 3-2 victory against Liverpool to leave the English Premier League champions without a win since clinching the title. Arne Slot’s side took the lead through Harvey Elliott’s early opener before Yasin Ayari equalized at the American Express Stadium. Dominik Szoboszlai restored Liverpool’s advantage just before halftime, but Brighton staged a late fightback as Kaoru Mitoma leveled before Hinshelwood came off the bench to net with his first touch. Liverpool have taken just one point from their three matches following the title-clinching rout of Tottenham Hotspur on April 27. The Reds have lost at
Logan O’Hoppe, Taylor Ward and Matthew Lugo homered, and the Los Angeles Angels spoiled Clayton Kershaw’s season debut, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 11-9 on Saturday night to take the first two games of the three-game series. Kershaw allowed three runs and threw 38 pitches in the first inning. The three-time National League Cy Young Award winner lasted four innings, giving up five runs on five hits with three walks and two strikeouts. Shoulder, toe and knee injuries limited Kershaw to seven games last season, and his 2025 debut was delayed as he recovered from multiple offseason surgeries. O’Hoppe had two hits with
RSS