Belgium Edges Brazil in a World Cup Classic

Feel free to thank England manager Gareth Southgate for making this match-up possible.

He hasn't officially confirmed it, but one reason dude threw an all-reserve side out there in the Three Lions' meaningless Group G match with Belgium was the fact it wouldn't bother him a bit to finish as the runner-up instead of the champion.

Southgate preferred what he saw in that side of the bracket.

Among other things, his bracket quadrant wouldn't include Brazil.

 

Seems like Belgium wound up not minding, either.

The Red Devils' golden generation justified their billing by besting powerhouse Brazil, 1-2, to move on to a semi-final clash with France.

What's more, these teams produced a cracker of a match, featuring damn near everything that spurred the great Pelé to label football as the beautiful game.

 

Ironically, a nation with such a vast talent pool entered this competition thin at right back.

The reliable Dani Alves was injured before Russia, so Fagner was counted upon to carry more of a load under Seleção manager Tite's defensive system. Dude had handled his responsibilities well to date, but against the likes of Eden Hazard, his full-90 in this one was a horrorshow.

 

Well, Hazard did, and Brazil spent most of the match being forced to cover for Fagner. It ultimately ripped the fabric of Tite's system and led to the Red Devils' goals.

As the game started under perfect conditions in Kazan -- where both Germany and Argentina bowed out of this World Cup -- the five-time champions seemed slightly better, displaying their usual offensive artistry. Dudes were creating space that led to solid opportunities such as Thiago Silva's header which ended up hitting the post:

 

Still, the Red Devils were giving as good as they got, and it didn't take long for them to strike.

It was the 13th minute, and after a corner, Vincent Kompany couldn't quite reach a header, but no matter. A tragicially disoriented Fernandinho's elbow created a deflection from which there was no recovery:

It seemed to be a massive blow for the Brazilians, who suddenly resembled their 2014 team that pathetically lost to Germany.

After a sequence of counterattacks that clearly wreaked havoc among Brazil's fullbacks, the Belgians scored their second in the 31st with a missile from Kevin De Bruyne from outside of the box.

This was the result of an absolutely brilliant run and perfect pass from Romelu Lukaku, just possibly the play of the game:

Brazil kept fighting, and Belgium kept threatening Alisson Becker every single time they launched counterattacks.

The Seleção goal came just at the 76th minute. After an excellent deep pass from Philippe Coutinho, Renato Augusto sent it home with a clinical header.

The Brazilians got hyped as the Belgians tried to defend as firmly as possible. Thanks to Thibaut Courtois, who made awesome saves.

This one came just before the Belgians' second goal ...

 

... and this one happend just after it:

 

Ah, yes. Neymar.

As opposed to Hazard being the richly deserved man of the match for his constant winning the one-on-one clashes and serving a major role in the Belgian offense, the PSG kajillionaire didn't exactly enhance his reputation.

 
That just doesn't happen on a championship side.

And in quality challenges like this one, it can't.