Super subs do it for Belgium

Belgium emerged victorious in their opening encounter of the FIFA World Cup 2014 against Algeria by a scoreline of 2-1. Two of the three substitutes made by the Belgian manager found the back of the net to give Belgium their first victory in the FIFA World Cup since 2002.

Algeria led the most part of the game, till the 70^th minute of the match to be precise. But they could not prevent a late surge ahead from the Belgians and ultimately resigned to defeat. The Algerians went ahead midway through the first half, in the 24^th minute, when Sofiane Feghouli scored from the spot after he was dragged down inside the area by Jan Vertonghen. Belgium failed to find the equalizer although they put men forward looking for their first goal in the tournament. The pressure increased with the passage of time and they finally got rewarded in the 70^th minute. Marouane Fellaini, the Manchester United man, headed the ball into the net to restore parity. Immediately after conceding the goal, Algeria tried to come out of the defensive shell by going forward. And it brought their downfall as Eden Hazard picked up the ball around the centre of the pitch, made a quick turn, ran ahead for few meters and then passed it on to Dries Mertens who did not fail to rifle the ball past the advancing Algerian keeper Rais Mbolhi to put Belgium ahead with only 10 minutes left in the clock.

It was a fairy tale win for the Belgians and after a long time, in fact 12 years they finally tasted victory in the world cup finals. The dark horse of the tournament, as they have been pitted by the bookies, has really promised for much better piece of football in the upcoming days in this edition of the tournament as key players like Hazard, Fellaini, Orizi hitting form just when it matters most.

• About the Author

About Argha Ghosh

An ardent follower of sports and die-hard Manchester United fan, Argha's ultimate dream is to watch a Manchester derby from the Stretford End at the Old Trafford.