Romelu Lukaku continues his prolific form as Belgium struggle to save a point from their latest World Cup qualifier without the inspiration of Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne. There are also further goals for France’s Olivier Giroud and more woe for the Dutch on another busy night of international action. Here’s how it played out…
Belgium 1 Greece 1
Fantasy Premier League’s man of the moment Romelu Lukaku grabbed a late equaliser for Belgium against a Greek side that finished the match with just nine men.
Shackled for much of Saturday’s encounter, the Everton striker eventually made his mark, chesting down a Dries Mertens centre before blasting a volley into the bottom corner – a goal which epitomised his current form and confidence.
Lukaku seems to be developing a liking for late shows – he scored twice at the end of the 4-0 win over Hull City last weekend – but his 46.8% ownership base will now be hoping that their man is preserved for Belgium’s Tuesday night friendly in Russia.
Coach Roberto Martinez certainly has plenty of options up front – Divock Origi, Christian Benteke and Michy Batshuayi were all unused substitutes against the Greeks.
Chelsea midfielder Eden Hazard was a key absentee. The calf injury that kept him out of the Gameweek 29 victory at Stoke City has lead to him missing Belgium’s two internationals, with the playmaker remaining a doubt to resume Premier League action against Crystal Palace this weekend. Recent reports sound optimistic on his prognosis, however.
The 7.0% of Fantasy Premier League managers still holding Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne will also face an anxious wait ahead of his visit to Arsenal on Sunday. Suffering from a groin problem, he is said to be returning to Manchester for treatment having watched from the stands in Brussels on Saturday.
Elsewhere, Thibaut Courtois, Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen, Nacer Chadli and Marouane Fellaini all started for Belgium, with Mousa Dembele replacing the Manchester United midfielder just after the hour mark and Kevin Mirallas coming on for a late cameo.
Luxembourg 1 France 3
Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud scored twice as France made relatively hard work of their trip across the border.
The forward has started seven of the Gunners’ last ten league matches, scoring five times, and his double for Les Bleus won’t have hindered his cause ahead of a huge home match with Manchester City next Sunday.
With two double Gameweeks and a relatively kindly run-in, Arsenal players offer the potential for good returns as the season reaches its climax.
If Giroud can somehow offer us a degree of security in the face of strong competition from the likes of Alexis Sanchez and Danny Welbeck, the 2.7%-owned forward could yet prove differential of note.
Giroud was one of four Premier League players to start and finish the Luxembourg match, the others being Hugo Lloris, Laurent Koscielny and N’Golo Kante.
FPL managers will be hoping all four are spared when France face Spain in a Tuesday night friendly.
Elsewhere, the decline of Holland continued with a 2-0 defeat in Bulgaria.
Bruno Martins Indi, Daley Blind and Georginio Wijnaldum – with the latter pair recovering from recent head injuries. They all started for the Dutch, with Wijnaldum replaced at half-time.
Spurs keeper Michel Vorm was an unused sub for the Netherlands, who are in danger of failing to qualify for their second successive major tournament just three years after finishing third at the 2014 World Cup.
The Dutch have a friendly with Italy on Tuesday.
Switzerland beat Latvia 1-0, with Arsenal’s Granit Xhaka starting and finishing the match and even managing to avoid a booking. Stoke City midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri calmed recent fitness concerns by playing 78 minutes for the Swiss.
Defensive duo Cedric Soares and Jose Fonte lasted the full 90 minutes as Portugal eased past Hungary 3-0, while Liverpool centre-half helped Estonia keep a clean sheet in a 0-0 stalemate in Cyprus.
Portugal host Sweden in a friendly on Tuesday, with Estonia also in action against Croatia that night.
Sunderland midfielder Seb Larsson didn’t make it off the bench in Sweden’s 4-0 win over Belarus, while Chelsea reserver goalkeeper Asmir Begovic enjoyed a rare start as Bosnia Herzegovina swept Gibraltar aside 5-0.
