Belgium defeated Croatia 2-0 in a friendly played in Rijeka as part of the two teams' preparations for the World Cup. Youri Tielemans (38’) and Romelu Lukaku (96’) scored for the “Red Devils”, who were the better team and recorded their 12th consecutive match without defeat.
The “Flames” suffered their second consecutive defeat after losing to Brazil in April. This is happening to them for the first time in two decades.
The match started evenly, but even at the beginning the hosts were slightly better. In the 38th minute the guests took the lead. Doku once again broke through from the left and crossed low, Satulo tried to cross, but only deflected the ball at De Kuyper's feet. After a ricochet, the ball ended up in the path of Youri Tielemans, who shot into the far corner from about eight meters.
Two minutes later, Belgium had another chance. Doku broke through again easily and shot, but Livaković saved.
In the 41st minute, Croatia's best chance came, but Courtois intervened brilliantly and saved Modrić's shot with his fingertips.
In the second half, the two coaches made a lot of substitutions. In the 62nd minute, Croatia came very close to equalizing. Sučić broke through from the left and crossed, and Budimir headed the ball, but the ball hit the post. In the 76th minute, the post also stopped Belgium after a header by Vaneken.
In the 80th minute, Vušković almost scored an own goal, but Kotarski saved it.
Romelu Lukaku, who appeared as a substitute 20 minutes before the end, made work for the Croatian defense several times. In the sixth minute of added time, it was he who shaped the final result. Vaneken took the ball and with a brilliant passing pass brought out the Napoli striker from the left. Lukaku shot very well into the far corner, scoring his first goal in more than three months.