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52 maltatoday, SUNDAY, 19 JUNE 2016 Sport FOOTBALL - EURO 2016 Lukaku bags double as Belgium stun Ireland Two goals from Lukaku and another from Witsel gave Belgium a 3-0 win over Ireland who will now have to beat Italy to have a chance of going through to the last 16 WARREN ZAMMIT BELGIUM started to put pressure immediately and created the first opportunity after 12 minutes. De Bruyne's delivery from a corner was f licked-on dangerously at the near post. It glanced across the face of goal but no one was at the far post as the opportunity went begging. Mark Wilmot's men went close again on the 20th minute when De Bruyne produced another excellent delivery into the area. O'Shea dived to meet it with a clearing header ahead of Lukaku. He winded up sending it straight to Hazard, but the Chelsea man lacked the composure to take ad- vantage. The Belgians kept building pres- sure and had a goal disallowed on the 24th minute. De Bruyne picked out Carrasco with a de- lightful through ball. The forward saw his effort strike the crossbar before tapping the rebound into the net. However, the assistant referee had his f lag raised for an offside. Throughout the rest of the first half, the Belgians kept pushing forward with their best chances coming from set pieces. However, they were not able to open the score. On the other hand, Ireland struggled to hold possession and never tested Courtois. Belgium started the second half superbly and went in front on the 47th minute. De Bruyne did out- standing work on the right before picking out Lukaku, who busted forward and placed a splendid fin- ish beyond Randolph. Witsel doubled the score for Belgium on the 61st minute when he went past McCarthy, who was unaware of his presence, and sent a thumping header past Randolph on the end of Meunier's cross. Nine minutes later, Lukaku scored Belgium's third goal after Hazard skipped past a challenge marvelously and picked out Lu- kaku who went through on goal. The striker kept his composure and placed a simple finish past the Irish goalkeeper at the far post. This result means that Belgium can believe again that they can go through if they play the same way against Sweden, while Ire- land have to beat Italy to have any chance of making it to the last 16. IRELAND (4-5-1): Randolph; Coleman, O'Shea, Clark, Ward; Hendrick, Whelan, Hoolahan, McCarthy, Brady; Long. BELGIUM (4-2-3-1): Courtois; Meunier, Alderweireld, Vermael- en, Vertonghen; Witsel, Dembele; Carrasco, De Bruyne, Hazard; R. Lukaku. Yellow cards: Hendrick (Ireland), Vermaelen (Belgium). Referee: Cuneyt Cakir (Turkey) A goal from Axel Witsel and Romelu Lukaku's double secured Belgium's win Italy confirm Candreva hamstring injury Injured Rosicky set to miss remainder of Euro 2016 ITALY'S Antonio Candreva sat out training on Saturday after picking up a hamstring injury in their 1-0 victory over Sweden on Friday. The 29-year-old winger underwent tests on his injury to assess the problem, accord- ing to a statement on the Italian Football Federation's official website, and his pro- gress will be monitored by medical staff. Captain Gianluigi Buffon initially took to the training field at the team's base in Montpellier, but returned to the gym soon after the session began after feeling unwell, according to Sport Mediaset. Italy secured first place in group E on Saturday when Belgium beat Ireland 3-0, meaning that Antonio Conte's side cannot be caught in top spot and will face group D's runner up in Paris on June 27 in the last 16. Italy's Antonio Candreva in action CZECH Republic captain To- mas Rosicky looked set to miss the rest of Euro 2016 after pick- ing up a thigh injury in their 2-2 draw against Croatia in Saint- Etienne on Friday. "Tomas's MRI reveals a partial rupture of the thigh muscle," team doctor Petr Zeman was quoted as saying on Saturday by Czech daily Mlada Fronta Dnes on their website. "He definitely won't be play- ing in any match in the coming days and certainly not against Turkey. "The treatment time is very individual but it ranges between three to six weeks," he added. "It doesn't look good." The midfielder was a risky inclusion in Pavel Vrba's squad having not played a single league game at Arsenal last season, and underwent a scan on Satur- day after being injured late on against Croatia. The Czech Republic fought back from 2-0 down to take a point having lost their opener against Spain, and face Turkey on Tuesday in their final Group D match. Tomas Rosicky