Romelu Lukaku and Belgium are now through to the World Cup semifinals, where they will face France on Tuesday. With their 2-1 win over Brazil in the quarterfinals yesterday, we’re now guaranteed a fourth straight champion from Europe.
This was the second straight contest in which Lukaku didn’t score, but he continues changing the game and helping his team in other ways. Lukaku, who set up Kevin De Bruyne’s game winning goal, is drawing a ton of praise this tournament, and deservedly so. He has Manchester United fans everywhere expressing their excitement for the upcoming season on social media.
If you look at the 2018 FIFA World Cup odds at TopBet.eu, you’ll see Lukaku among the favorites to win the World Cup Golden Ball and Golden Boot Awards this tournament. He’s a big reason Belgium are getting decent odds to win it all as well- because opposing defenses are heavily gearing up to stop him, and that opens the door for all of his talented teammates to step up and fill the void.
“Everyone thinks Romelu Lukaku is just about goals, goals, goals, but I want to be seen as an all-rounder,” Lukaku told the media after the big win on Friday.
“Providing assists is also important, and this year I have provided more than ever. Of course I want to score but, at the same time, I try to work as hard as I can for the team.
“I don’t have to prove myself any more [as a goal scorer]. Everyone knows I can score with every chance provided to me in the box, but the individual doesn’t count here.”
You can see just how much he helps his team when he’s not scoring on the game winning play of Belgium’s 3-2 win over Japan in the round of 16. It’s a classic end-to-end fast break sequence, and although Lukaku didn’t touch the ball, watch as he really makes it happen by getting the defense to commit to him, and thus creating the space needed to create the finishing touch in the final third.
Watch the breakaway in all its beauty at this link.
“In football it’s all about the winning of titles and it is when I’ve won trophies that I have had my greatest memories in the game,” Lukaku added.
“Scoring against Brazil is not the best moment of my career. We haven’t won the World Cup. For that, we still need to win two more matches.”
Lukaku and Belgium take on France in a World Cup semifinal on Tuesday.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, is currently a regular contributor to SB Nation, WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
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