Bernie Ecclestone doubts whether the double points rule will feature in the future of Formula 1

Formula 1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone has come out and expressed his opinion that he does not see the double points rule for the final race of the F1 calendar continuing on next year. The 84 year old first wanted double points to feature in the final three races of the season, and has said “I’m not going to propose the three races again”.

Ecclestone then called the whole double points scenario “stupid” and continued to say “I’m going to let them get on with it. I don’t know what we’re going to do next year”. The primary objective for the double points rule and the reasoning behind it was to avoid the final race of the season being a pointless race, and it means the title is still very much up for grabs in Abu Dhabi on 23^rd November.

Briton Lewis Hamilton currently tops the standings, 17 points ahead of Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg, and if Rosberg finishes first in Abu Dhabi, Hamilton will have to finish second to win the championship.

The introduction of the double points rule was a surprise addition, and was added only to the final race and not the final three after a hugely negative reaction from fans. The rule has had plenty of critics, with the likes of current World Champion Sebastian Vettel and current Championship leader Lewis Hamilton publicly criticising it. But the controversial ruling has had backing from big names in the sport, such as former Williams driver Damon Hill.

Hill, the Formula 1 Championship winner in 1996 spoke out in February earlier this year, saying that Formula 1 is merely falling into line with the rhythm of other sporting competitions, with Abu Dhabi assuming the status of the F1 seasons ‘final’.

Ecclestone also accused the teams of thinking about the “short term” after not agreeing with his original plan of double points for three races.

“One race is stupid but imagine if it was the last three races,” he said: “It means that somebody would have to have a 150-point advantage minimum to be sure they will win”.

“The teams have not accepted it because they are bloody idiots. They are all mechanics. They think of their team in the short term.”

  

Qatar 2022 World Cup could possibly clash with Winter Olympics

FIFA have publicly announced the two possible dates for the 2022 World Cup, and both are in winter.

Ever since it was announced that Qatar was to host the World Cup there has been a lot of controversy surrounding the decision. Talks of potential scandal and bribery to allow Qatar to win the right to host the prestigious tournament. Mentions of unethical work methods being taken up in the country, which has seen a number of workers killed during construction. But today we may have been given the answer to a question that was on football’s governing bodies lips, when was it to be held?

The FIFA World Cup is a sporting event which is predominantly held in summer time, around the months of June and July, but that simply was not an option for the World Cup in Qatar. Summer lasts from May till September in the middle-eastern country, with average temperatures surpassing 38 degrees Celsius, and approaching 47 degrees Celsius. The tournament does tend to be hosted during the summer as all of the domestic leagues from countries that compete in the World Cup are over, but the case may be different for Qatar.

The suggestion to host the competition in winter time was first made shortly after the announcement that Qatar would be hosting, as the issue with temperature was taken into account straight away. So FIFA have discussed the possibilities on several different occasions and it does seem that they have announced their short-list of the two potential best dates for the tournament to be held.

FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke made a statement on Monday saying: “We are getting closer to narrowing the dates for the FIFA World Cup to two options – January/February 2022 or November/December 2022 – but FIFA has also been asked to consider May 2022.

“We will summarise what we’ve heard today and provide feedback to all parties in order for them to prepare for the next meeting as we progress towards a final decision.”

UEFA has argued strongly to hold the tournament in January/February 2022, as these dates would minimise disruption to the Champions League. But holding the competition at that time would raise the prospect of a clash with the Winter Olympics, which FIFA President Sepp Blatter has guaranteed will be avoided.

So only time will tell to see when the 2022 World Cup will be hosted, and whether or not it will clash with the Winter Olympics.

Paul Robinson earns Pompey a point against Mansfield

Paul Robinson, scorer of Portsmouth’s goal and Man of the Match winner

It is now 4 league draws in succession for Portsmouth after their encounter with Mansfield this previous Saturday.

It was another fantastic turnout at Fratton Park, with an attendance of 15,585 watching the game.

The game finished 1-1, which left the Portsmouth players and fans feeling frustrated after being unable to capture the win after a late barrage of pressure on the Mansfield goal.

Mansfield will have seen it as a point gained, despite a much brighter start to the first half. But Portsmouth will see it as 2 points dropped after a slow start which picked up immensely late on in the second half.

The first half was very sloppy from both sides, with the only notable event being a potential red card for Mansfield striker Matt Rhead, who when chasing a ball down slammed Pompey captain Johnny Ertl into the advertisement boards, which infuriated the Portsmouth players and the fans. Rhead was shown only a yellow and was given a bombardment of boo’s whenever on the ball.

The second half started much more brightly as Mansfield took the lead after the ball fell to Simon Heslop who found the bottom corner from 18 yards out.

This lead to Portsmouth picking up the pace, with some players in particular fighting for every ball and putting in an admirable shift.

Jed Wallace put a dangerous low ball in the box which Ryan Taylor was inches from connecting with, but Mansfield keeper Sascha Studer claimed it.

Mansfield showed their potential on the counter-attack as Nicky Shorey’s cross was claimed again by Studer, who let Mansfield break which lead to Paul Jones producing a fine save to stop Rakish Bingham.

Ryan Taylor and Michael Drennan had a couple of chances each but just could not finish them.

The game then changed when Portsmouth made a couple of substitutions and changed formation from 3-5-2 to 4-4-2, with Nigel Atangana and Patrick Agyemang coming on for Johnny Ertl and Michael Drennan.

Straight away these changes proved successful, as good build up play on the right lead to Nigel Atangana firing a ball across the box which was put home by Paul Robinson.

After this the rest of the game really belonged to Portsmouth, with Atangana and Jed Wallace beginning to boss the midfield, and Danny Holland’s being denied the winner by a fantastic save from Sascha Studer.

That was all she wrote though as the game finished 1-1.

The point leaves Mansfield in 15th place with 16 points, and leaves Portsmouth dropping to 12th, 2 points from the play-off places.

Nottingham Forest 2 – 2 Ipswich Town

A last gasp goal from Michail Antonio meant Nottingham Forest and Ipswich Town share the spoils in a toughly contested game at the City Ground.

Nottingham Forest’s Michail Antonio scoring late on to earn Forest a point

Nottingham Forest did find themselves behind twice in the match but managed to fight back to get a point from the game, keeping up their unbeaten start to the season.

Ipswich took the lead in the 19th minute through Daryl Murphy, scoring a brilliant solo goal which left the away end very impressed. It was not until during the second half that the home side equalised, as Robert Tesche beat Ipswich Town’s goalkeeper Dean Gerken with a header in the 63rd minute from a corner.

But Ipswich took the lead again 8 minutes later through Daryl Murphy again, heading home his 6th goal of the season from a Tyrone Mings cross.

Ipswich did look like they were going to hold on to the win which would have made them joint top of the table with rivals Norwich City, but in the 4th minute of stoppage time Forest equalised.

It again came from a corner, which fell to Antonio who scored to earn Forest a point, which now leaves themselves joint top with Norwich.

The result for Ipswich Town players and fans was tough to take, after playing so well for the majority of the game and being so close to another impressive win.

Town goalscorer Daryl Murphy said after the game “It feels like a loss”. But manager Mick McCarthy said despite Forest’s last minute equaliser, that he was proud of his side for battling with the big spenders of the league.

“The players who have come in can be proud, but we have to keep doing it”, McCarthy told BBC Radio Suffolk.

“Forest would be champions elect in a lot of people’s minds. They’ve spent a chunk of money”.

“I look at it and there’s 10 grand on the pitch that we’ve spent. It looks well spent on Tyrone Mings”.

Ipswich’s side was made up completely of free signings and loanees, expect for left back Tyrone Mings who was signed for £10,000 from Chippenham.

Stuart Pearce praised his teams determination after the game by saying, “We have a group of players that have a determination to not get beaten, and they showed that today”.

Germany Kroos past the hosts in their own back yard

Germany thrash Brazil 7-1 in Belo Horizonte to book their place in the World Cup final

The German players celebrate after scoring one of their 7 goals against a dejected Brazil side

Today was meant to be the day that Brazil took another step towards their dream of winning a sixth world cup in Brazil, by beating Germany, and making it to the final where they would face either Argentina or the Netherlands. But that was not the case, as the German’s completely demolished the hosts 7-1, which included the German’s scoring 4 goals in 6 minutes, booking their place in the World Cup final.

The result left the world in shock, people watching at home were gob-smacked, and social-networking went crazy. No-one expected a game where 2 world cup records were to be broken in such an important game. Germany did take the lead in the 11th minute through their top-scorer so far this tournament Thomas Muller, who volleyed home the first goal of the match, which was put on a plate to him by a well-worked Toni Kroos corner, which left him in plenty of space.

Germany then made it 2-0 in the 23rd minute through Miroslav Klose, who’s goal made him the new record holder of the most goals scored at World Cup finals, with tonight being his sixteenth, beating Brazilian Ronaldo’s record of fifteen, who was their in Belo Horizonte, to witness his national side getting taught a lesson in football by the Germans. His goal was the perfect example of a great goalscorer. Kroos played through Muller, who then set up Klose. His first effort was saved by Julio Cesar, but he showed his true poacher instincts and buried the rebound.

Germany then made it 3-0 a minute later through Toni Kroos, as Philip Lahm played a ball into the box, which fell to Kroos on the edge of box, and he fires home brilliantly with his left foot, and then the German’s made it 4-0 in the 26th minute, which was effectively straight after Brazil kicked off. After a few passes around the back, Fernandinho was caught short, Toni Kroos robs him, plays it to Khedira, who then passes it back to Kroos who scores his second in two minutes,

Germany’s fifth goal then came in the 29th minute through Khedria, who received the ball in space after David Luiz was caught completely out of position, Khedira plays the ball to Ozil, who passes the ball back to Khedira, who then fired home to make it 5-0.

It finished 5-0 at half time, with many boos coming from the Brazilian fans, and jubilant cheers from the German’s. Neither set of fans could believe it.

Germany started slower in the second half, but that still did not stop them compiling more misery on the Brazilians, as in the 69th minute, substitute Andre Schurrle scores Germany’s sixth. The goal began when Khedira on the right played the ball into Lahm who was in acres of space in the box, he then picked out Schurrle in the box who then simply had to tap the ball in. It was also Schurrle who scored Germany’s final seventh goal in the 79th minute, which was without a doubt the goal of the game, as a long ball was played forward to Muller, who played it in to Schurrle, who took a touch and from around the edge of the box half-volleyed the ball brilliantly in off the crossbar.

The Brazilians did score a pretty pointless consolation goal, as a long ball forward fell to Oscar, who then got past Boateng, and scored to make it 7-1 in the 90th minute. That was the last of the goals from this game, but if their was going to be more, it’s pretty fair to say you would expect that it would be the German’s who would be scoring them.

The final whistle marked the end of the embarrassing ordeal, with many Brazilian fans and players left in disbelief. They are now out of the 2014 World Cup, and can now at best earn a third place finish. Germany on the other hand, they are through to the World Cup final, and they have sent a very strong message to whoever they shall be facing, either Argentina or the Netherlands, they will both have to be wary. A fantastic performance from the German’s, which turned out to be the biggest ever victory in a World Cup semi-final, and they can now look to the final with great anticipation, with the whole squad appearing to be in great form, with players such as Kroos, Khedira and Muller in particular looking very threatening for whoever they face in Rio de Janeiro on the 13th July.

Argentina will face the Netherlands tomorrow in Sao Paulo, with both looking to book a place in the final this Sunday against Germany. Surely there will not be as much of a dominant performance in that game as there was in today’s game? We’ll have to wait and see.

Brave USA bow out of 2014 World Cup after being beaten by bombarding Belgium

Belgium qualify for the quarter finals after match with USA goes the distance

De Bruyne celebrates after finally beating spirited Howard in the USA goal

‘I believe’ was the chant and expressed opinion by many USA fans before their clash with Belgium yesterday in Salvador, which did also appear to be expressed by the players as well who produced a hugely courageous and gutsy performance to take the match into extra time.

As expected Belgium were relentless in the match, finishing with 38 shots and 27 shots being on target, compared to USA’s total of 14 shots, and with a staggering 19 corners throughout the 120 minutes. Much praise was being shown for the USA and Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard who really was the main reason that this match did go the distance, making save after save, really frustrating Marc Wilmots’ men. Altogether the Everton keeper made 16 saves, which was a World Cup record of most saves made in a game since records began in 1966, in what may prove to be the last World Cup game of his career.

Other USA players also put in a real shift, such as Michael Bradley and Jermaine Jones who did not stop working, which may be one of the reasons why USA actually did finish with 52% possession. Others such as 20 year old full-back DeAndre Yedlin, who came on for Eddie Johnson in the 32nd minute also impressed and did show that the future for the USA national team looks good with such young talent. But despite this, Belgium’s class finally shined through and they managed to make it through to the quarter-finals, thanks to another footballer who was wearing an Everton shirt this previous Premier League season.

Divock Origi started the game up-front for Belgium and again did impress, showing unstoppable pace and endless bags of confidence, but as soon as the game finished 0-0 after 90 minutes, Wilmots gave the young striker a rest and brought on a fresh Romelu Lukaku, who really made an impact and showed his worth. In the 93rd minute, Lukaku easily brushed off Matt Besler, who too had played like a warrior throughout the match, then ran towards goal and played it square to Kevin De Bruyne, who took a touch and finished past Howard nicely to finally put Belgium in front. Then in the 105th minute, roles are reversed as De Bruyne turns creator and plays a pass into Lukaku, who rifles a shot past Tim Howard, the game looked surely done and dusted.

But then in the 107th minute, Michael Bradley plays a chipped ball to Julian Green, who had came on at the end of the first half of extra time for Alejandro Bedoya, and Green volleys it home very cutely past Thibaut Courtois, the game was back on.

USA really had Belgium on the back foot for the final 13 minutes of extra time as they desperately searched for an equaliser to take the game to penalties. One of their efforts came from a brilliantly planned and coordinated free-kick, which resulted in Courtois having to make a fantastic save denying USA striker Clint Dempsey. The USA players showed fantastic fitness and desire, but so did the Belgians, who held on for a place in the quarter-finals, where they will face Argentina, who left it late to defeat Switzerland earlier that same day, which does appear an extremely tasty tie.

So USA are going home, but they can with their heads held high after another brave campaign. Even though their was no Hollywood ending, one thing is for sure, even though they are bowing out in the first knock-out stage, Football as a sport is really growing in America, and the future of their national team looks bright, Jurgen Klinsmann is really working wonders in the states.

 

 

Germany forward Miroslav Klose is close to breaking the World Cup goals record

Miroslav Klose becomes level with former Brazilian striker Ronaldo on goals scored at World Cups after scoring in 2-2 draw with Ghana

Klose sticks out a leg to convert Howedes’ flick on for his 15th World Cup finals goal

Both Group G hopefuls Germany and Ghana met at Estadio Castelao in Fortaleza on 21st June, which did prove to be a very even affair. Ghana did boast the statistic of more shots and shots on target, but unsurprisingly Germany did seem to dictate the game more with higher possession. It was Germany who took the lead in the second half through Bayern Munich star Mario Gotze, but the lead did not last long as 3 minutes later Ghana were level through an Andre Ayew goal. Ghana then went on to take the lead through striker Asamoah Gyan on the 63rd minute, but Germany fought back and found the equaliser through goal-machine Miroslav Klose, which turned out to be Klose’s 15th goal at World Cup finals, equalling the record set by former Brazilian star Ronaldo.

The 36 year old Lazio forward has scored 70 goals in 133 matches for Germany, which makes him Germany’s all time top-goal scorer, a record he took from former Germany forward Gerd Muller, and now it looks like he will soon be the holder of another record.

Klose’s first World Cup finals goal for Germany came in 2002 in Japan, during a group match against Saudi Arabia, which proved to be an emphatic performance for the striker as he then went on to score another 2, earning his first hat-trick for Germany.

His fourth goal came only four days later in a group match against Republic of Ireland, and his fifth and final goal of the 2002 World Cup came in their final group game against Cameroon, as Klose scores from close range in Shizuoka.

Klose’s sixth World Cup finals goal came on home soil in the 2006 World Cup in Munich, in a group stage match against Costa Rica, and his seventh came later on in the same match against Costa Rica. 11 days later, Klose scored his eight against Ecuador in Berlin, and later on in the same game scored his ninth, which left him so far with 4 goals in 2 games at the 2006 World Cup. His tenth goal for Germany at World Cup finals is considered one of his most important, as it came in the quarter finals against Argentina, this proves to be his final goal at that World Cup.

4 years on in 2010, Klose at his 3rd World Cup tournament in South Africa, scored his eleventh goal for Germany at World Cup finals, which featured in a group match against Australia. His twelfth goal at World Cup finals came on 27th June against England in Germany’s 4-1 win, and then scored his thirteenth 6 days later on 3rd July against Argentina, and his fourteenth came later on in the same game as Germany thrashed Argentina 4-0.

And as we all know, Klose’s 15th goal at World Cup finals came against Ghana on 21st June in the sides 2-2 draw in the group stages. Klose is now level on goals with Ronaldo, and has the opportunity to score his record-breaking sixteenth goal at World Cup finals in Germany’s final group game against USA in Recife.

Not only has Klose levelled with Ronaldo on goals scored at World Cup finals, but he has now joined with Pele and Uwe Seeler as one of the only players to score at 4 different World Cup tournaments.

Miroslav Klose has been hailed by some as one of the greatest goal-scorers of the 21st century and in footballing history, he has been said to have an instinct for scoring which makes him superior to his rival forwards. Even so at the moment it does seem slightly tougher to score at the same rate that he used to as he now features less for his national side due to the recently used false 9 formation, which does appear to be similar to Barcelona’s, as instead of using an out-and-out striker, they will use other talents such as Thomas Muller and Mario Gotze who are both proven goal-scorers, playing in a centre-forward role, with two wide-men either side, who will appear to advance further than the centre-forward.

This has proven to be effective as Germany have made a good start to this World Cup campaign, with a resounding 4-0 win against Portugal in their first game, with Thomas Muller grabbing the first hat-trick of this World Cup, and after picking up another point in a tough game against Ghana, they look fairly certain qualifying for the knock-out stages. They will look to sign off from the group stages in style though as they face USA and their coach, former player Jurgen Klinsmann in their final group match tomorrow, who have impressed this year as they too are currently on 4 points and could also make the knock-out stages.

Pain for Spain as Chile prove too hot to handle

World Cup holders Spain face an early exit from the World Cup after losing 2-0 to Chile in Rio De Janeiro

Spanish players Iker Casillas and Andres Iniesta in shock as they fail to make it past the group stage

Spain knew they had it all to do after being on the receiving end of a 5-1 thrashing at the hands of the Netherlands in Salvador, and that if they were to lose to Chile, their defence of the World Cup would be over.

They did not get the start they wanted as in the 20th minute, Charles Aranguiz cut the ball back to Eduardo Vargas who was waiting in the Spanish box, he managed to avoid Iker Casillas and poked the ball into the empty net to make it 1-0 Chile.

Chile then managed to score a second goal shortly before half time after another uncharacteristic mistake from Iker Casillas. The Spanish goalkeeper attempted to punch out an Arturo Vidal free kick, but only managed to find Aranguiz who then toe poked it home nicely. The situation looked all but over for the current World and European champions, as they could only manage to produce a lack-luster performance in the first half.

The second half proved slightly more positive for Del Bosque’s men as they made a couple of chances early on. Diego Costa managed to be found in some space in the Chile box, but his shot was deflected wide of Chile Goalkeeper Bravo’s goal. The other chance really was a wrong man at the right time scenario, as Sergio Busquets failed to make contact with the ball in front of the goal as it fell to him after Costa’s ambitious overhead effort.

Spain continued to try and play their ‘tiki-taka’ style of football, which was emphasised by them finishing with 63% possession, but the most important statistic was in favour of the south-american side, who held on for a famous and shocking win, and have now qualified for the knock-out stages. Spain on the other hand, they are very much out, and can now only look forward to a possible chance of re-earning some pride as they face an Australia side who were overlooked before the start of the World Cup, but who have impressed, as they earlier today displayed a very gutsy performance against Holland, losing 3-2, after at point leading 2-1.

So surprisingly, Spain are the first team out of this years world cup, and it is official that by the end of the tournament, new champions will be crowned.

 

Player review: Craig Westcarr

Portsmouth sign 29 year old forward Craig Westcarr on a free transfer on a 2 year deal

Craig Westcarr has become Portsmouth manager Andy Awford’s third signing this summer, following Paul Jones and Danny Hollands. Westcarr was brought to Fratton Park on a free transfer after he was released at the end of last season by Walsall, and many fans hope to see him shine at the south-coast club.

Craig Westcarr made his professional debut for Nottingham Forest in 2001 at the young age of 16, and then carried on to make another 23 appearances, scoring on the 1 occasion. During his time at Nottingham Forest he had loan spells at Lincoln City, where he scored 1 goal in 6 appearances, and Milton Keynes Dons, where he made 4 appearances in which he did not find the back of the net. After returning to Nottingham Forest from MK Dons, he left the Football League by joining Cambridge United, where he was more of a regular, making 31 appearances and scoring 8 goals in the process.

After spending a year at Cambridge United Westcarr then moved onto Kettering Town where he spent 3 years at. During his 3 year spell he found himself as a regular starter, by making 102 appearances and scoring 23 goals, which helped Kettering Town win the conference north title.

Westcarr then returned to the Football league by signing for Notts County, and helped them also find success, as they won the League 2 title in the 2009-10 season, with Westcarr playing a part by scoring 21 goals in 87 games during his time at The Magpies.

After spending 3 years at Notts County, he joined Chesterfield in 2011 for an undisclosed fee which was reported to be around £70,000. During his time at Chesterfield Westcarr scored 10 goals in 53 games, and also helped them win the Football League Trophy, beating Swindon Town 2-0 in the final at Wembley Stadium by scoring Chesterfield’s second goal with effectively the last kick of the game.

During his time as a Chesterfield player, he played 8 games on loan at League 1 club Walsall, who he then later ended up joining in 2013. At Walsall, Westcarr managed to score 19 goals in 59 games, also finishing as Walsall’s top scorer last season, with 11 goals in League 1.

Westcarr has represented England at U15, U16, U17, U18 and U21 level, and Pompey manager Andy Awford has stated; “I’m looking forward to working with him when the squad return for pre-season training”.

Awford also told the club website; “Craig brings something different to our attack, he’s a welcome addition to the squad”.

Westcarr also talked about his move to the south-coast club on his Twitter, saying; ‘Delighted to have signed for Portsmouth, looking forward to a big adventure with the club, good times ahead, good challenge’.

I as a Pompey fan really hope that Craig really provides his experience of winning the League 2 title to the rest of the squad, hopefully leading to us celebrating promotion by the end of the season.

I asked some Portsmouth fans on Twitter what they made of Awford’s third signing of the summer, and it was a pretty positive response.

“Seems a good signing! Scored goals at a higher level last year. Suits the system and should be at his peak”.

“Class signing”.

“Fingers crossed he’s more affective than what we had last season. Still need 1 more striker at least though”.

These Portsmouth fans have reacted well to Westcarr’s arrival and are looking forward to seeing him in a Pompey shirt in the near future, as am I! He has scored goals at this level and at slightly higher levels lately in his career, he has tasted success with trophies and promotions during his career, and at 29 years of age, we should expect a good showing from him!

PUP

 

 

 

 

Wilmots’ Red Devil’s frustrated but still get the three points in their first game

Belgium were truly frustrated in their first group game against Algeria after going 1-0 down in the first half, and being unable to play their standard attractive pass and move style of football, but showed good character and belief as they still managed to get 3 points by winning 2-1, through goals from Fellaini and Mertens.

The Algeria starting XI included a couple of familiar faces, such as Tottenham youngster Nabil Bentaleb, who was the youngest player on the field, and Valencia forward Sofiane Feghouli. Meanwhile Belgium boasted a squad filled to the brim with Premier League stars; such as Romelu Lukaku, Eden Hazard, Jan Vertonghen, Vincent Kompany, Moussa Dembele, Nacer Chadli, with Adnan Januzaj, Kevin Mirallas and Marouane Fellaini on the bench. Also in the squad was former Chelsea midfielde Kevin De Bruyne and Chelsea Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois who spent this previous season on loan at La Liga winners and Champions League Runner up’s Atletico Madrid. So many imagined an easy win for Marc Wilmot’s men.

The game began in a patient manner, with Belgium in the first 15 minutes really holding onto possession and playing patient football which just lacked that killer instinct, which saw Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku rarely get a touch of the ball. In the opening stages Algeria were hoping to get chances from mistakes being made by members of the Belgium squad, and mostly pose a threat on the counter-attack.

Although, it was Algeria that opened the scoring from the penalty spot as a ball played into the Belgium box was not anticipated by Tottenham defender Jan Vertonghen, who then ended up pulling down Sofiane Feghouli. Feghouli takes up the responsibility of taking the penalty himself and calmly sends Courtois the wrong way and Algeria take a shock lead.

Belgium react to this by increasing the speed of their build-up play and play more frequent passes into feet, trying to find a way through. What follows is a series of shots from distance from the Belgium players who seemed frustrated and desperate to find an equaliser before half-time, none of which really challenge Algeria Goalkeeper Rais M’Bohli.

Belgium have their best chance in the 43rd minute as good play from Hazard leads to some rare space for the Chelsea star, who then shows brilliant feet and feeds through Nacer Chadli who shoots straight at M’Bohli, this turned out to be the last real chance of the half.

Belgium start the second half with Dries Mertens replacing Nacer Chadli who had gotten himself booked in the first half. Mertens does instantly make an impact as he manages to run past a few Algerian defenders, he then played a ball in to the box but was unable to find Lukaku.

Some of the Belgium stars such as Hazard so far were unable to really show their ability as they were continued to be halted by the stubborn Algerian team. Hazard was also finding himself on the receiving end of some strong defending as he was being fouled on a few occasions going forward.

Algeria then nearly doubled their lead from a rare corner, as Medjani makes contact with the ball with his head, but it just goes wide of the post. It is then after this corner that Marc Wilmots brings off Romelu Lukaku and brings on 19 year old Lille forward Divock Origi.

About 15 minutes into the second half, the game continued to show why there was not much play going on, as it proved to be a foul-ridden game, with players from both teams being penalised on many occasions.

Both managers try and change the game with some substitutions. Marouane Fellaini came on for Moussa Dembele on the 64th minute for Belgium’s third and final change, and shortly afterwards, Algeria manager Vahid Halilhodzic brings on Islam Slimani who replaces Soudani. Then straight afterwards Origi breaks through the Algerian defence but M’Bohli saves well.

Then just before the 70th minute, Kevin De Bruyne picks up a loose ball, whips it into the box and second half substitute Marouane Fellaini meets it well with a header, which finds the back of the net, glancing off the bottom of the crossbar which left M’Bohli with no chance, the score was 1-1.

Shortly afterwards Algeria make another substitute, as Lacen comes on for Mahrez. But with 10 minutes to go, a good tackle in Belgium’s half by De Bruyne allows Hazard to run up the pitch on the counter-attack, he keeps going and makes a wonderfully timed pass to Dries Mertens who finishes it convincingly to put Belgium 2-1 up.

Three minutes later, Belgium full-back Toby Alderweild finds himself on the right, he plays an invitingly ball in which Fellaini again meets well with, which forces M’Bohli to make an impressive save. This turns out to be the real last chance and Belgium come fro behind to earn the three points.