Chelsea FC On Duty: Eden Hazard Bags Another For Belgium
Eden Hazard scored another goal as Chelsea FC players continued on their international exploits
Chelsea FC stars took part in a multitude of international fixtures over the weekend and Eden Hazard scored his second goal in two games to keep Belgium’s Euro 2016 qualifying campaign on track.
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Belgium have thus far had an up-and-down qualifying season, a notion reflected in the fact that they are second in a group which they would have expected to dominate. Draws away to Bosnia-Herzegovina and at home to Wales in addition to a loss in the return Wales fixture meant that Gareth Bale’s side topped the group heading into this round of matches.
In fact, Wales’ three point lead over Belgium meant that they had the opportunity to secure their Euro 2016 qualification with a win against Israel. However, they could only manage a draw which left the door open for Marc Wilmots’ men to close the gap.
Having said that, anything other than a victory for the Belgians would have handed Wales qualification and left them dangerously close to Israel in a battle for the remaining automatic spot with two games to go.
Eden Hazard, though, popped up to score the only the goal of the contest in the 86th minute. Kevin De Bruyne picked out Dries Mertens down the left flank with a lovely over-the-top pass. Mertens drove towards the goal before spotting Hazard charging into the box. The substitute subsequently cut the ball back into the Chelsea man’s path who buried it first-time with his left foot. Check out the goal at the end of the article.
This win takes them just one behind Wales and four points clear of Israel. Sunday’s results mean that Chris Coleman’s outfit only need a point to qualify while Belgium could do so with a win over Andorra.
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For Hazard, meanwhile, this is potentially the invigoration that the winger has so desperately needed. He has been lacklustre so far for the Blues and has failed to show any of the spark that led to his many personal accolades last season. Having converted a penalty on Thursday against Bosnia, this goal from open play may signal the true start to Hazard’s campaign.
At least I hope so.
Elsewhere, Gary Cahill and England became the first side to qualify for the finals in France with a 6-0 thumping of San Marino. Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney got on the scoresheet to tie Sir Bobby Charlton’s England goalscoring record.
The Czech Republic also secured their qualification with a 2-1 win over Latvia that saw ex-Blue Petr Cech and on-loan Tomas Kalas feature. Spain moved top of their group after defeating Slovakia 2-0; Cesc Fabregas, Pedro and Diego Costa all took part.
We will bring you a more comprehensive round-up of the international action when all the fixtures are completed, so be sure to look out for that.
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