Manchester United’s forward Romelu Lukaku scored a brace to help Belgium to a 3-0 win over Panama in their opening World Cup Group G game in Sochi this afternoon.
World Cup first-timers, Panama deservedly made it to half-time unscathed, but Belgium’s world-class talent showed with a flurry of high-quality goals in the second period.
An eye-catching volley from Dries Mertens ended Panama’s resistance two minutes after the restart, and former Chelsea striker Lukaku followed with two tidy finishes to make the scoreline more convincing.
Roberto Martinez’s side were quick out of the blocks and forced two early saves out of veteran Panama goalkeeper Jaime Penedo, who kept out Yannick Carrasco and Mertens to prevent Panama suffering a nightmare start.
England will take on Tunisia in the other Group G clash later tonight.
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