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SHIZUOKA, Japan (Ticker) -- Wesley Sonck and Marc Wilmots scored during a four-minute span as Belgium advanced to the second round of the World Cup with a 3-2 triumph over Russia in Group H. Johan Walem had a goal and an assist as Belgium set up a round-of-16 clash with Brazil. The contest was knotted at 1-1 when Sonck, who entered as a substitute just eight minutes earlier, headed home Walem's 78th-minute corner to put Belgium in front. "It's great to have beaten Russia to qualify for the next round," Belgium coach Robert Waseige said. "In a football match, you can never follow a pre-set scenario. This time we were lucky that one of our substitutes, Wesley Sonck, went on at the right time and managed to score a very important goal." Then with eight minutes left, Wilmots, the Belgian captain, struck his third goal in as many matches to give his side a commanding 3-1 lead. But Russia battled back. Dmitri Sychev, the 18-year-old substitute who also assisted on his team's first goal, scored in the 89th minute, setting up a dramatic finale. "I still thought we could get the draw," said Russia captain Viktor Onopko, who collected his 100th cap. "When Dmitri Sychev scored, I believed it would happen. I really thought we would equalize." Another substitute had the Russians' best chance to equalize and send them into the knockout stage. But Alexander Kerzhakov fired a header over the crossbar and Russia failed to advance. "We were very nervous throughout the game and this is all we could produce today," Russia coach Oleg Romantsev said. "At 1-1, Egor Titov had an enormous chance, but couldn't take it. After that, the psychological advantage went to the Belgians. Soon after that, we conceded a set-piece goal and quickly a third one, as well." The 2001 Belgian Footballer of the Year, Sonck scored his third goal for his country and first at the World Cup. With Belgium needing to break the deadlock in order to survive, the 23-year-old Sonck beat Russian forward Alexander Kerzhakov to Walem's cross. The spark in Belgium's offense throughout the first round, Wilmots fittingly hit the eventual game-winner. After side-stepping a defender at the top of the box, the 33-year-old forward unleashed an 18-yarder, which took a slight deflection off a Russian defender en route to the back of the net. Wilmots recorded his 29th goal in his 70th appearance for Belgium. Playing in his first match at the World Cup, Walem curled a 30-yard free kick perfectly, sneaking the ball into the top right corner to give Belgium a 1-0 lead after just seven minutes. Despite the deficit, the Russians continued to play defensively, waiting to spring their counterattack. That led to just one shot on goal in the opening 45 minutes from Russia and that did not arrive until there were five minutes to go until halftime. The Russians finally launched a successful counterattack seven minutes after the break. Sychev, who came on as a substitute for Alexei Smertin in the first half, sprinted into the box and unleashed a shot. That was blocked by goalkeeper Geert De Vlieger, but the rebound rolled into the path of Vladimir Beschastnykh for the simple tap-in and his first goal of the World Cup. "Well, we staged some nice counterattacks," Romantsev said. "A few of our players performed well, but generally speaking we didn't play to our real potential at all." Having just his international debut in March, Sychev energized the Russian attack after coming on to the field. Despite making just his fourth international appearance, and collecting his second goal, he showed no fear when taking on Belgian defenders. |
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