Euro 2020: Belgium knocks out defending champion Portugal to reach quarterfinals

Belgium knocked out the defending champions Portugal 1-0 to advance to the quarter-finals of the Euro Cup Football tournament. Thorgan Hazard’s sensational strike in the first half remained the difference as the Portuguese were unable to get their goal. They threw the kitchen sink at Belgium in the second half, hit the woodwork too but it was not to be.

 

Belgium qualified for the Round of 16 topping Group B with three wins in three games. During the group stages, they scored seven goals and conceded only one to stamp their class. Portugal, on the other hand, have qualified as one of the



best third-placed teams and won only one of the three group stage games. 

 

In another match, Czech Republic beat the Netherlands by 2-0 in Budapest. Goals from Tomas Holes and Patrik Schick helped the Czech Republic in defeating 10-men Netherlands to sail through quarterfinals. Just before one-hour mark in the game, Netherlands were down to 10-men after Matthijs de Ligt deliberately fouled and denied Schick a goalscoring opportunity resulting in Russian referee Sergei Karasev producing a red card after a lengthy video assistant referee review.