Belgium 5-2 Tunisia: 3 things we learned

Belgium beat Tunisia 5-2 in one of the most entertaining matches of World Cup so far. Here are three things we learned.

Eventful from start to finish, this game was a pleasure to watch despite it being over as a contest within just 50 minutes. But besides being treated to more goals than we have been in any other Word Cup match so far, what else did we learn from the game?

The soccer gods are fickle

Anybody who watched the England vs. Tunisia game last week might have suspected the officials had been instructed not to award a penalty against Tunisia under any circumstances.

Within four minutes of kickoff today, however, referee Jair Marrufo pointed to the spot after Syam Ben Youssef fouled Belgium’s Eden Hazard on the edge of the area. There was some disagreement about whether or not the infringement had taken place inside the penalty box, but the El Paso, Texas, official could certainly be forgiven for not giving Tunisia the benefit of the doubt again.

Next, in the 26th minute, Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku either stumbled or dived inside the box — only he will know for sure which — but then immediately waved his hands towards the referee to indicate that no foul had been committed.

In a World Cup that has so far been short on sporting gestures, it was a standout moment. However, it seemed shortly afterward that no good deed goes unpunished when Lukaku had to leave the pitch to receive treatment for an injury.

Thankfully, he recovered and went on to receive his just desserts by grabbing a second goal during first-half injury time. In doing so, he became both the highest scorer for Belgium at a single World Cup and the country’s top scorer overall at major tournaments.

But just as the soccer gods giveth, they also take away. Just minutes after bringing Tunisia back into the game with his headed goal, Dylan Bronn — who plays his club football in Belgium for Gent — was being stretchered off. The injury resulted from his seemingly innocuous block of a Yannick Carrasco shot, yet the tournament looked to be over for Bronn as he left the pitch in visible distress.

Belgium still aren’t playing to their full potential

While there can be no argument Belgium have been worthy winners of each of their games, few would claim they’ve been at their best, either individually or collectively. Against Panama, they were unremarkable before Dries Mertens’ glorious long-range effort tipped the game decisively in their favor.

There were certainly moments of fluent interplay from the Belgians today, probably best seen in the exquisite counter-attack that nearly produced a goal just before halftime. But the match was characterized most of all by Tunisian defensive play that vacillated between reckless and suicidal, as embodied by their hapless left-back Ali Maaloul.

Just as ominous is the strength in depth that Belgium possess, as evidenced by the caliber of the substitutes they brought on today. Although Michy Batshuayi should really have scored four goals after coming on, rather than the one that he did manage to put away, he looked very good for Dortmund after joining them in January. And while another second-half sub, Marouane Fellaini, isn’t to everyone’s taste, he’s without doubt a (grimly) effective player.

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Tunisia simply lack the quality to progress any further

They haven’t been awful, and there’s been no lack of either organization or application from Tunisia. But the bulk of their squad is made up of players from Saudi Arabian, Tunisian and middling Ligue 1 sides — and it shows.

Tunisia have never made it out of the group stages in this tournament and had scored just eight goals during their 12 previous World Cup games prior to 2018. Things haven’t changed too much this time around. While they had plenty of efforts on goal today — 16 overall — 11 of them came from outside the box and weren’t going to trouble a goalkeeper of Thibaut Courtois’ quality.

There were nonetheless some bright spots – Saif-Eddine Khaoui showed promise and Wahbi Khazri will certainly be playing for a better side than Sunderland next season. And their first match contained plenty of drama, while this game would have been enjoyed by pretty much everyone aside from Tunisia fans themselves. The only real lulls in the entire first half came during injury breaks.

The main downside of today’s result is that should England beat Panama tomorrow, then both they and Belgium are likely to rest players when they meet next week. So what might have been one of the most intriguing contests of the tournament could turn into a dead rubber in which squad players are given a run-out.