The brightly lit King Baudouin Stadium was filled with Belgian fans from all over, as well as a small number of Croatian fans.
The area reserved for Croatian fans had only 2,000 seats and was separated by iron fences, with dedicated security personnel ensuring safety to prevent direct contact between the two sets of fans that could lead to riots.
Even so, the "greetings" exchanged between the two sets of fans were constant.
Naturally, the larger number of Belgian fans held the upper hand, but Croatian fans were not intimidated and cursed back at them.
This match was crucial for both Croatia and Belgium.
For the former, it meant early qualification for the World Cup finals.
For the latter, winning this match was their only chance to compete for first place in the group.
Therefore, Belgium was bound to go all out in this match.
The fans were full of anticipation, hoping to thrash Croatia at home.
"This is King Baudouin Stadium, for the eighth round of the World Cup European Qualifiers, Belgium vs. Croatia at home!"
"This is a critical match for us. After the first seven rounds, Croatia maintains a perfect winning record, while we have a 5-1-1 record. Only by winning this match do we have a chance to chase first place in the group and direct qualification for the World Cup!"
"Croatia truly lives up to its title as the 2012 European Cup champion. Their overall strength is extremely formidable, and they have a phenomenal player like Suker on the front line. However, Belgium will not fear these things. I believe the lads will secure a valuable victory for us at home!"
"The starting lineup for this match is…"
Belgium (4-2-3-1):
Goalkeeper: Courtois.
Defenders: Alderweireld, Van Buyten, Lombaerts, Vertonghen.
Midfielders: De Bruyne, Witsel, Fellaini, Defour, Hazard.
Forward: Lukaku.
Croatia (4-2-3-1):
Goalkeeper: Subašić.
Defenders: Srna, Vida, Lovren, Strinić.
Midfielders: Perisic, Vukojević, Rakitić, Modrić, Suker.
Forward: Mandžukić.
"Belgium has arranged an attacking line of De Bruyne, Fellaini, Hazard, and Lukaku in the midfield, which is definitely our most luxurious lineup currently."
"Hazard, Lukaku, and De Bruyne, who play for Chelsea, are all top League-level players, and Fellaini's ability is absolutely trustworthy."
"In goal is Atletico Madrid's starting Goalkeeper, Courtois."
"And Croatia's starting lineup is equally formidable. Suker and Srna play for Real Madrid, and both of these players have won Champions League titles multiple times!"
"Modrić and Vida play for Manchester United. The former is even Manchester United's captain and midfield core. It can be said that Modrić is definitely one of the strongest midfielders in all of football today!"
"Rakitić plays for Barcelona, Mandžukić and Vukojević play for Bayern Munich. Even Perisic was a player for Borussia Dortmund, the Champions League runner-up last season."
After this comparison, the Belgian commentator suddenly felt a headache.
Croatia's lineup almost exclusively featured players from Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Bayern, with only a few exceptions. The rest were all top-tier players.
With such a lineup integrated together, it would be difficult not to win!
Belgium boasted about being a golden generation!
But looking at Croatia's lineup, calling them a "super platinum generation" truly wouldn't be an exaggeration.
The Croatian team during Davor Šuker's era was already impressive enough, but the current Croatian team is no longer limited to being a dark horse; this is the composition of a world-class team.
The Croatian players in their red and white checkered jerseys and the Belgian players in their red jerseys gradually took to their respective halves.
The atmosphere of the match also became extremely solemn.
The camera zoomed in on Suker for a close-up. Suker was still his usual self, jumping around to warm up.
But for Belgian fans, seeing Suker brought a huge sense of pressure.
Whether they could win this match, and whether they could effectively limit Suker, was key.
Of course, everyone understood this principle, but currently, only a few had succeeded.
Furthermore, Suker's playing style has changed somewhat now. If they mark him too tightly, Croatia can open up play through other channels.
This group of Croatian players doesn't rely solely on Suker to play.
"Concentrate!" Srna shouted forward loudly, "Be excited! Be active! Charge forward directly from the start of the match!"
Suker and the others also nodded in agreement.
They knew very well that the outcome of this match would determine whether they could successfully qualify, so this was a match they absolutely had to win with all their effort.
Seeing both teams ready, the Referee stepped out of the center circle and blew his whistle.
Belgium kicked off first.
"The match has started! The match has started!"
"This is the 2014 World Cup European Qualifiers, group stage round eight, Belgium vs. Croatia at home. The outcome of this match determines whether we can hope to challenge for first place in the group!"
As soon as the match began, Croatia immediately surged forward.
After a series of back passes, Van Buyten launched a long ball forward, looking for Hazard.
However, Hazard was already being tightly marked by Vukojević.
The moment Hazard was about to receive the ball, Vukojević gave a slight push, which made Hazard's reception slightly stiff. The ball bounced off Hazard's foot and flew about two meters, and seizing this opportunity, Rakitić snatched the ball away.
Seeing the ball lost, Belgium immediately launched a counter-press.
De Bruyne and Fellaini directly charged towards Rakitić, pressing him to prevent him from turning.
But Rakitić shifted left and right, suddenly finding a sliver of space. He continuously used the inside of his foot to curl the ball, turning around forcefully.
After turning, De Bruyne stretched out his leg to try and tackle, but Rakitić pulled and feinted, a V-pull and reverse flick, going directly through the middle of the two players.
"Oh~~~ Rakitić, a wonderful series of escapes! This is the magician of the Croatian midfield. He uses dazzling technique to dizzy the Belgian players."
After breaking free, Rakitić immediately threaded a diagonal pass.
The ball rolled to the left. Alderweireld immediately looked for Suker's position, but Suker was already running alongside him.
"So fast!"
Alderweireld was startled. He immediately reached out to try and pull him back.
But before the opponent could interfere, Suker made no excessive movements, meeting the ball with a direct chip pass.
The ball arced precisely towards Mandžukić, who was jumping inside the penalty area.
"Mine!!—"
Mandžukić roared, tensing his abdomen and striking hard.
However, the point of contact was a bit low, grazing the bottom of the ball, failing to keep it down. The ball grazed the crossbar and flew out over the byline.
"Mandžukić's header, oh~~~~ that was too dangerous, that was too dangerous!"
The Belgian commentator covered his heart and couldn't help but exclaim.
Just as the match began, Croatia launched a threatening counter-attack.
And this counter-attack was clean and decisive. After winning the ball back, Rakitić quickly broke free, then precisely found Suker, and Suker didn't hesitate, directly crossing the ball.
"My fault! My fault!"
Mandžukić was a bit embarrassed about not scoring, but he still gave Suker a thumbs-up.
Suker's pass was perfectly fine, it should have been perfect.
However, he was interfered with, and his jump wasn't high enough, so he couldn't head it into position.
Even so, Croatia's counter-attack still sent shivers down Belgium's spine.
"Toby! Mark Suker! You must put physical pressure on him!"
Courtois was very anxious. He felt that Alderweireld had not yet entered the match state and was playing a bit too softly.
When they played Real Madrid at Atletico Madrid, especially when dealing with Suker, they always had to apply constant physical pressure.
Only then could they cause some interference to Suker, and even then, it was only to weaken him, not to completely limit Suker's performance.
And Alderweireld's way of playing was just letting Suker play freely.
This was a very dangerous sign!
Alderweireld also heard Courtois's shout. He knew he had been a bit lax, so he turned to look at Suker, his eyes fixed on him.
Suker had already dropped back. He somewhat understood Alderweireld's defensive approach.
This guy wanted to keep some distance from him, to prevent him from forcefully overrunning him with speed.
While this was a way to deal with a speedy winger, Suker was not just a speed player; his footwork was equally excellent.
Leaving him space was like letting him do whatever he wanted.
If Alderweireld marked him tightly, Suker could still use his speed to get past him, or at worst, pass the ball to help his teammates create space.
No matter what, Suker could tie up a lot of Belgium's attention on the left wing.
On the other hand, Belgium's offense was a bit strange.
It wasn't that they didn't pass, but after passing, their chemistry was almost zero.
One could say they were fighting individually; De Bruyne also didn't utilize his excellent passing ability, but rather passed ground balls, as if passing the ball to Hazard completed his task.
Hazard, once he got the ball, would go it alone.
If he got past, he'd shoot!
If he couldn't get past, he'd throw his hands up and wouldn't even track back to defend.
As for Lukaku...
Suker saw Lukaku and Vida constantly engaging in close-quarters duels, and the former was clearly getting impatient.
While Lukaku possessed excellent physical qualities and a sturdy build, he was not a battering ram type of player.
Quite the opposite, he hated confrontation!
In the future Inter Milan, the perception was one tall and one fast, with Lukaku being the tall one and Lautaro the fast one.
But the reality was the opposite!
A strong man weighing nearly 200 pounds was responsible for 'fast'.
A Lautaro, less than 180 cm tall, was responsible for 'tall'.
You tell me if that's messed up or not!
At Croatia's coaching bench, Bešić and Van Stoyak watched the field; the progress of this match was much smoother than they had imagined.
Belgium's fighting spirit was strong, that was true!
However, they were relying on brute force!
Each player was exerting himself individually, completely failing to coordinate with his surrounding teammates.
Belgium had previously had several strange matches, and the media had also reported on internal discord within Belgium.
And now, looking at the direction of the match, these reports were sufficiently confirmed.
If it weren't for that, the match wouldn't have turned out this way.
De Bruyne received the ball on the wing; he first glanced at Lukaku's position, and if he were to pass, he would prefer to pass to Lukaku.
However, Lukaku was tightly marked.
Hazard was also being marked, but he was constantly demanding the ball.
"Pass it! To me! Quick!"
De Bruyne secretly pouted, and he passed the ball directly on the ground.
Hazard suddenly bumped backward, trying to push Vukojević away.
The latter did indeed fall for it, but as he retreated, Vukojević grabbed Hazard's jersey, pulling it down forcefully, which also prevented Hazard from immediately accelerating.
And seizing this opportunity, Rakitić ran over from the left side and snatched the ball away.
"Damn it!"
Hazard angrily pounded the ground.
He turned his head and glared resentfully at Vukojević, but the latter didn't even look at him.
Although Vukojević was no longer a starter at Bayern Munich, his own ability was still commendable.
Especially in defense, his technique, awareness, and experience were all very strong.
"Hazard is restricted; we're finding it difficult to create offense!"
At this moment, Croatia passed the ball to the left wing again.
Suker received the ball with his back to the goal, and upon confirming that Witsel was closing in, he suddenly stepped horizontally towards the sideline, letting the ball pass through.
At the same time, Suker turned and sprinted, leaving Witsel behind.
Suker regained control of the ball, but he didn't sprint forward; instead, he gently dribbled it little by little.
Alderweireld thought Suker was waiting for an opportunity to sprint down the sideline, but at that moment, Suker suddenly nudged the ball horizontally.
This nudge was perfectly timed, not only causing Alderweireld to move towards the center but also disrupting the rhythm of Witsel, who was tracking back.
After the horizontal nudge, Suker immediately pulled the ball back with his right foot.
He threaded the ball through the rib area between the Belgium full-back and center-back.
And on the wing, Croatia's full-back Strinić sprinted forward, successfully overlapping and reaching the byline to receive the ball.
"Watch out for the cross!"
Having had one experience, Courtois naturally reminded his teammates to be careful.
But at that moment, Strinić looked up towards the penalty area, yet his foot suddenly moved towards the diagonal backward direction, making a cut-back pass.
And in that position, under the interference of continuous passing, Suker, who had been lost, reappeared.
At this moment, the entire King Baudouin Stadium gasped in surprise.
The Croatian fans rose in fear!
This position had already entered Suker's shooting range.
"Block it!!"
Van Buyten cried out, rushing over desperately.
From other positions, Belgium players also rushed towards Suker from all directions, their entire defensive line completely disorganized.
At this moment, Suker feigned a shot, and just as his opponent approached, he gently tapped the ball with his left foot, actually continuing to distribute the ball to the center, to the edge of the penalty area.
After distributing the ball, Suker elegantly jumped over Van Buyten's sliding tackle.
The moment he turned his head, Rakitić had already arrived at the landing spot, gently scooping the ball as it came to him.
The ball curved past the defenders, forming an arc, a half-volley, and crashed into the side netting of the goal!
Just 9 minutes into the match, Croatia scored on their second attack!
"Gooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal!!!!"
"Ivan Rakitić, a calm scoop shot, the ball threaded through the crowd, precise into the net!"
"Croatia was so calm in front of goal; continuous passing created a dangerous offensive threat outside the box and completely disorganized Belgium's defense!"
"The lads are doing great; it's as if they don't get nervous! Every ball is handled very calmly!"
Croatian commentator Klausevich applauded and cheered loudly.
Since the start of this match, Belgium's offense has been chaotic, while Croatia has been progressing step by step.
Even those who don't understand football could tell which side was playing better.
"Croatia is playing too relaxed, as if we haven't put much pressure on them!"
The Belgium commentator frowned.
That was indeed the case; so far, Belgium had not been able to put much pressure on Croatia.
Especially on the left wing, it's not about giving opportunities, but if you don't implement an almost extreme defensive restriction on Suker, then you are giving Croatia a chance.
Once Suker is given space, he can use his ability to create shooting opportunities for himself and his teammates.
Just like this goal, Suker almost drew all the attention to himself, and then distributed the ball.
And when Rakitić shot, there was almost no one around to interfere with him.
For professional players, a shot without interference means their accuracy is at its maximum.
Especially for players like Rakitić, who are known for their footwork, this is even more true.
Just 9 minutes into the match, Croatia easily scored their first goal.
The course of the match was not the fierce battle that the Croatian fans had imagined.
Instead, Croatia was unilaterally dominating Belgium in the current time.
Belgium's coach Wilmots frowned deeply.
"Croatia's passing frequency is very fast, and they play very relaxed, but what's more crucial is their passing and movement ability; the ball is passed, and the player is already there. Their utilization of space and the width of the field has reached its extreme!"
Croatia is not a team that primarily plays possession football.
However, they have Suker, Rakitić, and Modrić, three technical 'number 10s' in the midfield, which allows them to play a decent possession game.
But to call it possession football would be awkward, because it's essentially a counterattack.
It's just possession dressed up as a counterattack.
Passing back and forth, horizontally stretching the space.
But their forward runs are decisive, and they are very good at using the tactic of players arriving from deep.
Especially with five-way attacks, Belgium's defense became even more shaky.
Now, Belgium must adopt a different approach, or rather, they must achieve some results in offense to force Croatia's midfield to track back more.
If they continue to be surrounded like this, the next goal conceded will only be a matter of time!