Belgium have secured a place at next year’s European Championship with two games in the qualifications to spare, after beating Austria in Vienna in what turned out to be an unusual game.
Belgium were three goals up by the hour mark, courtesy of a Dodi Lukebakio brace (12′, 55′) and a fine finish from Romelu Lukaku (58′), and it really seemed they would cruise through the remainder of the game to an easy victory. However, in the 72nd minute, Konrad Laimer stole the ball from Jeremy Doku in Belgium’s own half and scored from outside the box, and if the visitors believed it would be mere consolation for the home side, they were wrong.
Just six minutes later, Amadou Onana picked up a second yellow card, and having their opponents reduced to 10 men certainly lifted the Austrian spirits. In the 84th minute, Marcel Sabitzer reduced their deficit from the spot after the ball struck the arm of Arthur Theate inside the Belgium box. But in the end, the visitors hung onto the their advantage to win the game.
Dodi Lukebakio
Having scored the first two goals of the game, Lukebakio is obviously the man who made the most difference and set Belgium on their way to win.
Boasting plenty of pace, combined with physical strength and skill on the ball, the Sevilla winger is definitely a menace for defenders. The first goal was a trademark moment from the 26-year-old as he glided past Philipp Lienhart and beat Alexander Schlager in the Austria goal. He had support from Lukaku in the middle, but he also had the confidence to try for it by himself, and it proved to have been the right decision. The second goal was a bit of a lucky fluke as his shot from just outside the box picked up two deflections on its was in, but it still showed how confident and in form Lukebakio is at the moment.
Lukebakio has played for a large number of clubs in his career so far, which suggests he has been searching for the right surroundings for his talent to flourish for a long time, and at the moment, it seems he’s found what he needs at Sevilla. He may not be very young anymore, but there might still be plenty more to come from this player.
Alaba and Arnautovic absences big blow for Austria
Austria showed admirable spirit with their fight to find a way back into the game after going three goals down; not many teams would’ve been able to do that. And that only makes the question of how different their fortunes in this game would’ve been had David Alaba and Marko Arnautovic been fit to play.
The Real Madrid defender, Austria’s first-choice captain, is a proven leader, and it would’ve been far more difficult for Belgium to find their way through had he been on the pitch. Arnautovic is also a very experienced player, a handful for any defence, and Ralf Rangnick’s men would probably do more damage upfront with him in their ranks.
On the other hand, it should not be forgotten that Belgium were also without their arguably best player. Manchester City playmaker Kevin De Bruyne is yet to return from his muscle injury, so Austria maybe shouldn’t complain too much about their misfortune in that aspect.
Controversies
There were plenty of complaints from Belgium players when referee Jesus Gil showed Onana the second yellow card, as well as when he awarded the penalty for Austria after consulting the video footage on the pitch-side screen at a request from the VAR room. But truth be told, they had very little reason, if any at all, to complain.
Already on a yellow card, Onana should really have been more careful in that 78th minute, and there can be no reasonable arguments against the second booking. His tackle on Xaver Schlager was very reckless and it could’ve left the Austria midfielder seriously injured.
The penalty call was perhaps more open to debate, but it certainly wasn’t unfounded. The ball did strike Theate’s arm, and while the question of whether the Belgian defender could’ve avoided it can be asked, there’s no question about it not being quite in a natural position or about it making him bigger.
The aftermath
But in the end, Belgium won the game and have now qualified for the Euros, and they won’t be losing too much sleep over these decisions. Meanwhile, Austria remain in second place with 13 points, six more than Sweden in third place, and though the Swedes have a game in hand, Rangnick’s team are still likely to join Belgium at the tournament next year.
In fact, a win over Azerbaijan on Monday would likely do the trick for Austria, most certainly if Sweden fail to win in Belgium on the same day.
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