Romelu Lukaku - The unexpected vanquisher for Belgium

The Belgium Vs USA game was hands down the best Last 16 game of the tournament. The game marked a glorious end giving way to the Quarter Finals. The tension this game created is unmatched, as every person watching this would have had trouble maintaining their sitting position as the extra time was heavily unsettling, to say the least.

Lukaku was a disappointment throughout the group stage fixtures and was replaced after half time in the games he played. He was replaced by Origi and chances of him getting back into the team looked bleak. But with the swash buckling performance he gave today all the doubt vanished into thin air.

The 21-year old brute reiterated why he was considered a powerful attacker by taking his team into the Last eights as he gave an assist that led to a goal by Kevin De Bruyne and another amazing goal that beat the wall, Tim Howard.

Lukaku’s introduction into the line-up at the beginning of extra time added the much needed muscle for the already dominant Belgium attack. He had a brilliant run as he beat the US defenders to muster up a chance for De Bruyne who put the ball into the net.

Here’s the first goal. Chance created by Lukaku, Scored by De Bruyne.

https://vine.co/v/MFLTEHixTZj

Here’s the second goal, a spectacular one at that, scored by Lukaku, created by De Bruyne.

https://vine.co/v/MFLxuOLneqB

What made the occasion glorious for the Belgian team was that the expectation on the young player was dimmed down. He coming off the bench and changing the course of the game made himself a hero in front of his countrymen.

An overview of his performance:

Shots – 4

Shots on Target – 4

Key Passes – 1

Pass Completion – 67%

Touches - 17