Hungary vs Belgium. European Championships Round of 16.
Stadium Municipal, ToulouseAttendance28,921.
Hungary 0-4 Belgium: Eden Hazard the star as Belgium set up clash with Wales
Monday 27 June 2016 09:14, UK
Belgium will play Wales in the quarter-finals of Euro 2016 after a fine performance from Eden Hazard gave them a 4-0 win over Hungary.
Hazard made one and scored another as Marc Wilmots' side left it until the latter stages of the game to wrap up the victory, earning them a last-eight clash with the Welsh in Lille on Friday evening.
Tottenham defender Toby Alderweireld gave Belgium the lead after 10 minutes with an unmarked header after a superb free-kick from Kevin De Bruyne, who also hit the bar in the first half.
Hungary had chances to level in both halves, but Belgium made sure of the win 12 minutes from time, Michy Batshuayi scoring with his first touch from Hazard's superb centre.
Hazard then danced across the face of the box two minutes later before finding the bottom corner, capping off a man-of-the-match performance from the Chelsea man.
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Belgium rounded off the win in stoppage time and ensured the biggest victory margin in the tournament so far when Yannick Carrasco coolly finished from 12 yards for his first international goal.
Wilmots made just one change from the side that beat Sweden 1-0 in the week, bringing in Dries Mertens for Carrasco, while Hungary were on a high after winning Group F against the odds ahead of Portugal, Austria and Iceland.
But it was all Belgium in the first half, with Romelu Lukaku forcing a save from Gabor Kiraly from an angle in the ninth minute before the opening goal came seconds later.
Alderweireld, unmarked from De Bruyne's superb free-kick from the left flank, headed past Kiraly from eight yards for only his second international goal.
Kiraly then saved with his feet from De Bruyne as the Manchester City man was forced to shoot early having been put through on goal by Lukaku, with Belgium desperately looking to kill the game off early.
They hit the bar with 10 minutes remaining in the first half, Kiraly superbly tipping De Bruyne's 20-yard free-kick onto the woodwork, before the Hungarians had two half-chances of their own.
First, Gergo Lovrencsics' long-range effort went inches over the bar, before Balazs Dzsudzsak, who scored twice in a 3-3 draw with Portugal in the group stage, slid an effort just wide of Thibaut Courtois' left-hand post from 20 yards.
Mertens, in acres of space on the right of the penalty area, could only find the body of Kiraly before half-time, and the former Crystal Palace stopper was again at his best after the break, tipping over Hazard's fierce effort from just inside the box.
Adam Pinter's deflected effort from 20 yards was acrobatically tipped over the bar by Courtois with 25 minutes remaining as Belgium stuttered, before defender Roland Juhasz drilled an effort from an angle inches wide of goal.
Marseille striker Batshuayi, who according to Sky sources has been subject of a bid from West Ham, was brought on for Lukaku with 13 minutes remaining and scored with his first touch, a simple finish from five yards after Hazard's superb ball across the face of goal from the left.
Hazard then turned scorer, showing the sort of form that earned him he PFA Player of the Year gong in 2015, cutting in from the left and sliding past two Hungary challenges on the edge of the area before slotting into the bottom right corner.
Courtois then produced two saves at the other end, the first from Adam Szalai's snapshot and the second from Akos Elek's half-volley, before Belgium grabbed a fourth.
Having come on as a substitute in the second half, Carrasco was found by Radja Nainggolan on the left of the area in space, and calmly finished past Kiraly to round off a convincing win.