The Belgian Red Devils defeated Tunisia 5-0 in their final warm-up match for the football World Cup on Saturday at King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels.
Coach Rudi Garcia reverted to a four-man defense for this last test ahead of the tournament, following an experiment with three defenders during Tuesday’s victory over Croatia. He introduced Thomas Meunier at right-back, Timothy Castagne on the left, and Brandon Mechele alongside Nathan Ngoy in central defense.
The Red Devils dominated early, with Leandro Trossard testing Tunisia’s goalkeeper Mouhib Chamakh just 44 seconds into the match. Kevin De Bruyne came close twice shortly after, first missing the target following interplay between Trossard and Jérémy Doku in the ninth minute, and then seeing his free kick saved by Chamakh three minutes later.
Belgium broke the deadlock in the 28th minute, courtesy of Manchester City’s Jérémy Doku. After beating his marker, he sent a cross to Trossard, who tapped the ball into an empty net. Despite further chances from De Bruyne, Mechele, and Amadou Onana, Tunisia’s defense held firm, with Chamakh making crucial saves before half-time.
The second goal came early in the second half when Charles De Ketelaere headed in a Youri Tielemans delivery in the 53rd minute. Tunisia nearly responded, hitting the post through Elias Achouri in the 58th minute, but their hopes were dented when Ismael Gharbi received a red card for a rough tackle on Doku minutes later.
De Bruyne extended Belgium’s lead to 3-0 in the 65th minute, striking from outside the box. Moments later, Romelu Lukaku was brought on to a warm reception from fans at the King Baudouin Stadium.
With victory assured, Garcia made eight substitutions. New entrants Dodi Lukebakio and Nicolas Raskin contributed to the rout, with Lukebakio scoring Belgium’s fourth goal after a run and cross from Matias Fernandez-Pardo in the 85th minute, and Raskin sealing the 5-0 result with a low shot two minutes later.
The Red Devils are set to depart for Seattle on Monday, where they will set up base for the World Cup. Belgium’s campaign begins on 15 June against Egypt in Seattle, followed by matches against Iran on 21 June in Los Angeles and New Zealand on 27 June in Vancouver.
