Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku smashed up a dugout in a frustrated rage after missing a number of clear-cut chances as his country were dumped out of the World Cup at the group stage.
Belgium, tipped by many to be one of the contenders to win the tournament in Qatar, are out after losing two of their three group games against Morocco and Croatia. The game against the latter on Thursday afternoon finished in a rather drab 0-0 draw, which was enough for the Croats to go through.
However, it could have been entirely different if Lukaku, a half-time substitute, had taken one of several gilt-edged opportunities. In total, the striker missed three clear chances in front of goal, hitting the inside of the post with one of them when it seemed easier to score.
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He also missed an open goal with a header, which would ultimately had been ruled out anyway as replays showed that the ball had already gone out of play for a goal-kick before Kevin De Bruyne crossed it into the box.
Nevertheless, Lukaku, on loan from Chelsea with Inter, still had ample opportunity to save his side and put them through to the last-16 and put opponents Croatia out in the process. Inconsolable at the full-time whistle, the forward was seen with his head in his hands being comforted by assistant manager Thierry Henry.
Then, footage captured him walking over to the bench area and lashing out with a right-handed punch, damaging the perspex side of the dugout. The defeat in all likelihood signals the end of Belgium’s ‘golden generation’, which had been tipped to win a major international tournament. Lukaku is now 29, and others in the side are well into their 30s and may have realistically played their last World Cup games.
The defeat and World Cup exit puts huge pressure on former Swansea City manager Roberto Martinez, who has been Belgium boss since 2016. Speaking to the BBC after the game, he said: "It's not easy to win games in the World Cup and we won the first one without being ourselves, the second on we had a deserved defeat we didn't feel that we were ready. Today we were ready, we created many, many opportunities, and today there is no regrets. We're out but we can leave with a head held high."
When asked if he was going to remain as Belgium's manager, Martinez replied "now is not the moment" and walked away from the interview.
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