AFTER BEING HEAVILY criticised for a lack of inspiration and drive in their opening game of Euro 2016, Belgium showed they can indeed use the quality at their disposal.

The Red Devils demolished Ireland 3-0 in their second game of the tournament, with Romelu Lukaku, Eden Hazard, Axel Witsel and Kevin De Bruyne shining.

With Marc Wilmots’ side being dismissed as a group of good individuals that fail to combine to make a good unit, the Belgians responded with a solid team display and it payed off with a sound goal that came about thanks to teamwork.

Incredibly, there were 28 passes in the build up to Witsel’s strike to make it 2-0 - a record for the European Championships since 1980.

Furthermore, the win over Ireland equalled Belgium’s biggest win at a major tournament - a win over El Salvador at the 1970 World Cup.

It was a great day for Lukaku, too, who scored twice to make it six goals in six games for his national team. He also became the sixth Belgian to score at both the World Cup and the Euros, and is the first from his country to score twice in a major tournament match since his coach Wilmots did it against Mexico in the 1998 World Cup.

Having set Lukaku up for his opener, Kevin De Bruyne has now had a hand in 10 goals in his last 10 appearances for Belgium, scoring five goals and getting five assists.

But while it all looks sweet for Belgium, Ireland are in a perilous situation as their poor record in the Euros continues.

The Green Army are still winless at the Euros since beating England in their first ever game in the competition in 1988 – they have lost twice and drawn five times in the competition.

So poor were Martin O’Neill’s men that for the first time since the 1994 World Cup, they failed to have a shot on target in a major tournament game.

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