AL RAYYAN, Qatar — At the final whistle, with Belgium eliminated from the World Cup after a 0–0 draw with Croatia, Romelu Lukaku stood by the touchline in front of the Belgium bench, doubled over in anguish. Beside him, with a hand on his shoulder, stood Belgium’s assistant coach, Thierry Henry. But there was no consolation that could remedy this all that quickly. Lukaku eventually stood and, after punching the side of the dugout, sat down. Youri Tielemans soon ran across to sit beside him.
Belgium manager Roberto Martinez went around the pitch hugging his players before confirming what had been expected.
“That was my last game with the national team and this is emotional, as you can imagine,” he said.
