France were expected to win, but Belgium had possibly more to play for, as France were guaranteed a life in the play-offs, while Belgium were guaranteed to go out if they lost here. France opened the scoring in the 21st minute through Thierry Henry, after an error by Belgian keeper Ronny Gaspercic. A regulation catch from Robert Pires’ chipped through-ball was spilled leaving Henry with a simple tap in. The match was reasonably evenly contested until Henry put France firmly in the driver’s seats in the 63rd minute, meeting Nicholas Anelka’s pass with a curling strike into the top corner. Belgium was now desperate for goals, and as they pushed forward holes were left in their defence and a rout ensued. In the 70th minute Zinedine Zidane was left completely unmarked to volley in Henry’s corner from close range. The roles were reversed in the 82nd minute when Zidane’s through-ball was stroked past the advancing Gaspercic by Henry, who had the first ever play-off hat trick in the first ever play-off match. He incredibly made it 4 with a minute of normal time left, Pires providing his second assist of the day, and Henry finishing with a run down the left flank and an angled strike. The 5-0 scoreline represented humiliation and elimination for the usually gallant Belgians, while France was guaranteed a place in the final 4.
France 5 Belgium 0 |
