Sharjah24 – Reuters: Belgium secured themselves a spot in next year’s World Cup finals and kept up their unbeaten qualifying run as they beat Estonia 3-1 in Brussels on Saturday.
The semi-finalists in Russia in 2018 climbed to an unassailable 19 points in Group E, after Christian Benteke scored early and Yannick Carrasco and Thorgan Hazard added second-half goals.
The Belgians join Brazil, Denmark, France and Germany as the first five countries to qualify for the finals starting next November in Qatar.
But it was in fact a wasteful display from Belgium, whose supporters were expecting more of a goalfest at the King Baudouin Stadium to celebrate qualifying for a third successive World Cup.
Without the injured Romelu Lukaku and Michy Batshuayi, the 30-year-old Benteke was given a rare chance to lead the attack, and he took little time to open the scoring.
He tapped in from close range after Estonia goalkeeper Matvei Igonen made a horrible error, letting a low cross from Carrasco slip through his hands.
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