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Belgium's Romelu Lukaku was the key to the most stunning goal of the World Cup and he didn't even touch the ball
Belgium's Romelu Lukaku was the key to the most stunning goal of the World Cup and he didn't even touch the ball
Tyler LaulettaJul 3, 2018, 02:25 IST
Fox
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Belgium defeated Japan in the most exciting match of the 2018 World Cup thus far, securing a spot in the quarterfinals in the final seconds of regulation.
The win came courtesy of one final effort from the Belgium side, which came to life thanks to one of the finest counter-attacks you'll ever see and was capped off by a selfless, strategic, and stylish play by Romelu Lukaku.
Below we take you through the moments that led up to Belgium's decisive third goal beat-by-beat.
After fighting back from a 2-0 deficit that Japan had built in the opening minutes of the second half, Belgium's defense came up big once again in the final seconds of stoppage time, with keeper Thibaut Courtois making a save and looking up to survey his options.
What he saw was a field wide open for a counter-attack.
2. Kevin De Bruyne triggers the counter
Courtois rolls the ball out to Kevin De Bruyne, triggering an all-out sprint towards Japan's goal in one final effort to secure victory.
Moving with possession, De Bruyne sees he has numbers with five men to Japan's four, and everyone moving in the right direction.
3. Thomas Meunier makes his run
With the numbers on their side, Thomas Meunier makes his run, sprinting towards space, hoping to extend the teams advantage and set up the game-winner.
4. Meunier crosses the ball in
When Meunier receives the ball, he's built Beglium's advantage even further. Now with a three-on-two, Meunier must only find a way to get the ball to the open man and end the game.
5. Romelu Lukaku's perfect dummy
As it turns out, Romelu Lukaku would make it easy for him, pulling off a perfect dummy — a fake shot at the ball that draws in a defender while allowing the ball to roll onto the open man behind.
Lukaku knew that there was only one defender to keep pace with both him and teammate Nacer Chadli. Rather than battle for a one-on-one shot, Lukaku fakes his strike, draws attention, and lets the ball roll right by him.
On replay, one of the commentators would call it "the greatest dummy in World Cup history."
6. GOALLLLLLL
With Lukaku having done the dirty work, Chadli has an easy time putting the ball away.
You can watch the final sequence play out in its entirety here. On further replays, Lukaku's ability to hold off and trust that his teammate will send the team to victory only gets more impressive.
