Belgium have responded to their first UEFA Nations League defeat against the Netherlands by scoring five goals in the second half in a comeback to defeat Poland 6-1.
Important moments
- 28' Lewandowski half-volley puts Poland ahead
- 42' Witsel levels as Belgium perseverance pays off
- 59' De Bruyne turns tie around
- 73"Low Trossard finish enhances the benefit
- The 80' Brighton man gets second with a curling effort
- "83'" Dendoncker closes from the distance
- 90 3' Openda grabs first international goal
Belgium started brightly, Michy Batshuayi hitting the post and then getting a goal disallowed within the first five minutes. The Polish response to this was a slow one, their strikers getting ever closer to each other up to Robert Lewandowski took one touch to keep his foot in the air, and then scored their goal through a half-volley on 28 minutes. The home team was at a level before half-time when Timothy Castagne's clever shot was turned in through Axel Witsel to make it 1-1 at half-time.
After that, Belgium went on to dominate and take a well-deserved lead after Eden Hazard broke to set the way for Kevin De Bruyne as he struck from inside the box. Substitute Leandro Trossard scored two goals with his second goal a long curling effort and a long-range shot from Leander Dendoncker as well as Lois Openda's first goal for her country sealed an stunning victory.
The second time around, Belgium was a lot more determination than they did against those Dutch as it became evident they were determined to prove themselves. Although they displayed more defensive weakness when they were unable to catch up to Lewandowski's goal, they reacted with aplomb and players like De Bruyne and Castagne posed very dangerous as the hosts returned to win the victory. Goalkeeper Bartlomiej Dragowski performed well in a difficult situation for Poland and conceded just six goals but could have done more.
Reaction
Roberto Martinez, Belgium coach to online casino malaysia website :
It is a great feeling when you lose to your opponents, so it was certainly a motivational factor this evening. In the game against The Netherlands, we were unfocused, hesitant, and insecure. In this case, we were a group instead of an individual.
Yannick Carrasco Belgium Winger Yannick Carrasco, Belgium:
We've examined this Netherlands match. We've made mistakes but this time we wanted to demonstrate to our fans why they need to not give up hope. We all knew what we needed to do and I'm glad we were able to show our fans this message. We're now determined to do much better than we did in the coming two games.
Czeslaw Michniewicz Poland head coach :
I advised the athletes in the locker room that the game would remain in our minds for a long period of time, however, they must use this as a way to remind themselves of the way that opponents play at the top levels around the globe. We must follow this model; we don't want to concentrate only on the things that happened to us.
Robert Lewandowski, Poland forward:
It was a match that gave us plenty to consider and a number of questions in different aspects in our plan for game as well as overall strategy. It was also an insight into how to deal with these teams. Even attacking players needed to return deep and assist in defense, which required an enormous amount of effort. Following that, it's difficult to find the courage to strike again.