Belgium eased into World Cup with an opening 3-0 victory in their Group G match against Panama, making their first-ever appearance at the tournament proper.
The Red Devils started brightly and appeared able to open up their opponents at will, with Yannick Carrasco side-footing at goal in space on the inside left.
A minute later, Carrasco supplied Dries Mertens to shoot over, forcing a smart save from Jaime Penedo, who tipped over.
Roman Torres, Panama’s hero in qualifying, inexplicably teed up Eden Hazard with a woeful backpass, but the playmaker forced a shot against the side netting from a tight angle.
Romelu Lukaku struggled without service, and his best chance of the half came when Penedo ran out to block a through ball before he could get a first touch to shoot on goal.
The defensive nature of Belgium, even against such limited opponents, was holding them back.
In the second half, the deadlock was promptly broken.
After a brief moment of head tennis from a cross aimed at Lukaku, the ball dropped to Mertens just inside the box. From an angle, he lashed a volley up and over Penedo, who barely had time to react before the ball was in the net.
Record goalscorer, Lukaku, finally made it two when he reacted smartly to a superb, flicked De Bruyne cross with a diving header past Penedo with 20 minutes of the game left to play, a rare moment of quality in the game.
Lukaku had a second when he latched onto a Hazard through ball and lifted a shot over Penedo, making victory certain.
Belgium is now undefeated in their last 10 World Cup qualification group games and will expect to collect another victory against Tunisia before the final match-up against England next Thursday.
