0 vs 2
Played
September 7, 2012 7:45 PM BST
Cardiff City Stadium — Cardiff (Caerdydd)
Referee:‬ S. Johannesson‎
Attendance:‬ 20156‎
 
 
 

Wales 0-2 Belgium: Kompany header & Vertonghen piledriver down 10-man hosts

James Collins' red card derailed what looked to be a promising evening for the hosts, as the visitors were given a fairly easy ride to pick up three points in the opening qualifier

By Joe Doyle

Wales v Belgium ,  FIFA 2014 World Cup Qualifier, Vincent Kompany
Getty Images

A 10-man Wales side were thoroughly beaten by an impressive Belgium side, with goals from Vincent Kompany and Jan Vertonghen easing them to victory.

James Collins picked up an early red card to give the visitors a fairly simple night of ball retention, though chances were lacking as a header from the Manchester City captain and a late free-kick from the Spurs new-boy were enough to see them gain all three points.

Joe Allen was a surprise absentee from the Welsh starting line-up, pulling out due to a virus - with Swansea defender Ashley Williams forced into a holding midfield role.

Belgium named a full strength line-up, including no less than eight Premier League players in their starting lineup - including Chelsea's on-loan goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois - andZenit St Petersburg's new £32 million signing Axel Witsel.

The first chance of the evening fell to David Edwards in the 10th minute after a long free kick was flicked on well by Steve Morison. When Guillaume Gillet attempted to nod back to Courtois, he left it short, with Edwards just unable to get around the ball and could only pop it into the side netting.

Marouane Fellaini's first involvement was to irritate the referee, and he could count himself a little lucky not to get booked after cynically leaving a leg in to trip Aaron Ramsey.

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Gareth Bale then brought the hosts another half-chance, as he burst past Eden Hazard on the right-wing, getting to the byline before poking a cross towards Simon Church that just evaded him.

Collins came to the rescue for Wales, throwing himself at a Dries Mertens cross and getting a block in on Thomas Vermaelen's header that prevented a certain goal before turning villain and jumping into a challenge on Gillet and giving the referee Stefan Johannesson‎ little choice but to send him off.

Belgium began to take advantage, pressing more than they had been in the opening half hour, with the corner count steadily increasing.

Bale almost earned an unlikely opener as he chased down a long ball all the way to Courtois, and blocked the keeper's attempted clearance, but was adjudged to have had his feet too high.

And with five minutes until half-time, the visitors took the lead. Mertens' delivery from yet another corner was fierce, with Kompany nodding in the front post.

The opening 15 minutes of the second half were entirely Belgium's, and they almost grabbed a goal as Vertonghen aimed a low effort at the near post when a ball across the box would have been more beneficial.

And just before the hour mark Courtois was properly tested for the first time, with Bale hitting a vicious free kick from distance that he pushed around his post.

The game soon settled back into a similar rhythm with Witzel and Dembele dictating the tempo well before the Spurs man was subbed.

With the game closing out, the referee was earning plenty of abuse from the home fans as he refused to give Church a free kick for a blatant shove from Kompany, before giving Belgium a soft one as Romelu Lukaku feigned to shoot and caught his leg on Ramsey, losing his balance.

The resulting effort from Vertonghen was terrifying, as he ripped a brilliant strike into the far corner after Hazard touched it to the side for him in the 82nd minute.



Wales

13
B. Myhill
Goalkeeper
3.00
2
Adam Matthews
Defender
3.00
6
Ashley Williams
Defender
83′
3.00
2
Chris Gunter
Defender
2.50
19
James Collins
Defender
26′
1.50
23
Darcy Blake
Midfielder
3.00
16
Aaron Ramsey
Midfielder
3.50
4
David Edwards
Defender
79′
3.00
3
Gareth Bale
Midfielder
3.50
18
Simon Church
Striker
71′
3.00
5
Steve Morison
Striker
72′
3.00

Belgium

2.50
13
3.50
-
2.50
5
3.00
4
3.50
28
Axel Witsel
Midfielder
3.00
17
Eden Hazard
Midfielder
2.50
30
3.50
19
2.50
25
3.50
14
2.50
11

Substitutes

32
Jason Brown
Goalkeeper
 - 
1
Lewis Price
Goalkeeper
 - 
33
Ben Davies
Defender
 - 
18
 - 
10
Andy King
Midfielder
79′
 - 
19
2.00
-
 - 
29
 - 
15
David Vaughan
Midfielder
 - 
10
 - 
18
Sam Vokes
Striker
72′ 85′
2.50

Substitutes

 - 
1
 - 
22
Simon Mignolet
Goalkeeper
 - 
5
 - 
6
 - 
6
 - 
3
3.00
6
 - 
35
Steven Defour
Midfielder
 - 
2
Timmy Simons
Midfielder
 - 
20
C. Benteke
Striker
 - 
10
2.00
36

Coach/Manager

-
 - 

Coach/Manager

 - 
-
 
  • Goal
  • Own Goal
  • Penalty
  • Penalty Missed
  • Yellow Card
  • Assist
  • Penalty Save
  • Penalty Shootout Goal
  • Penalty Shootout Miss
  • Yellow Card / Red Card
  • Red Card
  • Substitution IN
  • Substitution OUT
  • Injury
  • Goal.com Rating
  • Goal.com Man of the Match
  • Goal.com Flop of the Match
  • Top & Flop Global Ranking
  • Fans' Man of the Match
  • Fans' Flop of the Match
Results
Group A Matchday 1
Times In BST
 
Top Scorers
Player   Goals Penalties
Edin  Dzeko Edin Dzeko
Striker
Manchester City
8 0
Vedad Ibisevic Vedad Ibisevic
Striker
VfB Stuttgart
6 0
Tomer Hemed Tomer Hemed
Striker
Mallorca
6 0
Mesut Özil Mesut Özil
Midfielder
Real Madrid
5 2
Wayne Rooney Wayne Rooney
Striker
Manchester United
5 1