A rocket from Thorgan Hazard knocked reigning champions Portugal out of Euro 2020 on Sunday and earned Belgium a blockbuster quarter-final with Italy.
Hazard’s swerving shot before half-time sealed a 1-0 win for Belgium and settled a scrappy contest in Seville that never really lived up to its billing as the stand-out tie of the last 16.
But it could prove a statement victory for Belgium, whose chief concern now will be the fitness of Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard, who both hobbled off injured and will undergo scans on Monday.
De Bruyne suffered an ankle injury while coach Roberto Martinez said Hazard’s problem was “more of a muscle feeling”.
Cristiano Ronaldo tested Thibaut Courtois with a dipping free-kick in the first half but the 36-year-old neither broke the international goals record nor added to his five for the tournament.
Raphael Guerreiro went closest to a late equaliser when his shot came back off the post, one of 29 shots Portugal had, six of them on target.
But before the late rally, Belgium were the braver, more fluid team and Martinez hailed his side’s fighting spirit to hold on.
“We showed our talent in the first half and in the second half we showed an aspect that wasn’t there two or three years ago,” said Martinez. “This is what a winning team needs.”
For all the superstar names on the pitch, it was Eden Hazard’s less heralded brother Thorgan who proved decisive, the Borussia Dortmund winger who Eden once said had even more talent than him.
“In these games if you have a chance you have to have a go,” Thorgan said. “It went in, with a bit of luck and it was the goal that got us through. It’s a dream for me.”
Portugal, meanwhile, stuck to the defensive approach that served them so well in France five years ago but has perhaps been outgrown by a side that now boasts some of the most creative technicians in the world.
“I think it’s an unfair result but they scored and we didn’t,” said Portugal coach Fernando Santos.