Belgium will rest and rotate against England, says Roberto Martinez

Sport360 staff 21:26 23/06/2018
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  • Belgium boss Roberto Martinez praised Romelu Lukaku for his “clinical” finishing in the 5-2 thrashing of Tunisia but then dropped a big hint that he would be rested for the Group G decider against England.

    The Manchester United striker scored twice before limping off in the 59th minute, with Eden Hazard also getting a brace and Michy Batshuayi claiming the fifth.

    Dylan Bronn gave Tunisia brief hope with a first-half header but Wahbi Khazri’s stoppage-time strike was only a consolation.

    England needed a goal in added time to beat Tunisia in their opening game but the Red Devils had no such worries, tearing into the North African side from the start and creating chances at will.

    They had 23 shots, 12 on target, and Batshuayi should have scored a hat-trick after coming on for Hazard with 20 minutes to play.

    Speaking after the game, Martinez explained that Lukaku injured an ankle ligament, while Hazard strained his calf and Dries Mertens also hurt his ankle.

    Asked if this meant there would be changes for the game against England in Kaliningrad on Thursday, Martinez said: “The answer is very clear: if we had seven days to prepare it would be the same starting XI.

    “In international football, the reality now is we have qualified. There will be opportunities to give minutes to other players. There will be major changes against England.”

    Lukaku’s first-half brace means he is tied with Ronaldo as the tournament’s top scorer on four goals. After scoring 27 times in his first season at Old Trafford, he has now reached 40 goals for Belgium.

    After some criticism of his work-rate in the first game against Panama, not least from Hazard, Lukaku was superb at the Spartak Stadium and his manager was impressed.

    “(Romelu) will try to score as many goals as he can but not at all costs,” he said. “I thought he was incisive, in the right position, in a confident mood. In front of goal he was as clinical as you might expect.”

    The former Wigan and Everton boss was understandably pleased with the whole team’s showing, too, but said they can play even better.

    “This was a game that suited our style, you have to give credit to Tunisia,” he said. “They wanted to win from the beginning, press high up. The credit that we deserve is that we took those opportunities well. We are still growing. With a two-goal lead we should have controlled the game a little bit better.”

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