Euro 2020 qualifiers: Eden Hazard bags brace as Virgil van Dijk and Georginio Wijnaldum seal Netherlands rout

Double: Chelsea star Hazard scored twice on his 99th cap for Belgium.
REUTERS
Joe Krishnan21 March 2019

Chelsea star Eden Hazard scored twice as Belgium edged past Russia 2-1 in their Euro 2020 qualifying campaign opener.

The Red Devils went ahead after 16 minutes when on-loan Leicester midfielder Youri Tielemans struck a low effort past Guilherme into the bottom corner.

But a horrific error from Real Madrid stopper Thibaut Courtois allowed Denis Cheryshev to level just two minutes later.

Hazard then won a penalty in the second half after being tripped by Yuri Zhirkov, slotting home into the bottom corner from the spot.

And the 28-year-old doubled his tally late on when he finished from close range to mark an impressive display on his 99th cap for his country.

AP

Liverpool pair Virgil van Dijk and Georginio Wijnaldum were both on target as the Netherlands strolled to a comfortable 4-0 win over Belarus.

Former Manchester United forward Memphis Depay opened the scoring before Wijnaldum made it two on 22 minutes.

Depay grabbed his second 10 minutes after the interval before van Dijk scored a late fourth with a header from inside the six-yard box.

Croatia were given a scare in their opening qualifier, having to come from a goal down to overcome Azerbaijan 2-1 in Zagreb.

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