Associated Press
Goals by Romelu Lukaku and Eden Hazard gave Belgium a 2-0 win over Sweden in a World Cup warm-up game on Sunday.
After a slow start, the Belgians took advantage of a Swedish defensive mistake that allowed Axel Witsel to set up the Everton striker in the 34th minute.
Chelsea’s Hazard easily rolled in the second goal in the 78th from a pass by Kevin De Bruyne.
“In the first 10 minutes of the match I felt we were a bit hesitant, they played a bit soft,” Belgium coach Marc Wilmots said about his team. “Then they got five to six opportunities and they found a solution to get into the game.”
Sweden, who played without injured star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, had their best chance in the 68th minute when Jimmy Durmaz hit the crossbar after a corner. Ibrahimovic decided to sit out the game just before the start citing back problems.
Expectations are high on Belgium’s young team, with stars like Lukaku, Hazard and Manchester City defender Vincent Kompany, ahead of the World Cup. It is the country’s first World Cup in 12 years, and they will play Russia, South Korea and Algeria in Group H.
Lukaku, who scored the two decisive goals against Croatia that sent Belgium to the World Cup, also scored a hat trick against Luxembourg on Monday.
The 21-year-old’s position in the squad has become much more important after Belgium’s No 1 Christian Benteke went down with an Achilles injury in April, and out of the World Cup.
Hazard said the atmosphere in the team is good ahead of the tournament.
“There are always things to work on but I think at the end of the day we kept a clean sheet and I think except for the first 15 minutes the organisation of the team was good,” he said.
Sweden failed to qualify for the World Cup after losing to Portugal in a play-off.
The United States, meanwhile, continued their World Cup preparations with a 2-1 triumph over Turkey.
German-born Fabian Johnson, one of US manager Jurgen Klinsmann’s army of young, dual-citizenship footballers, made his first strike for the Yanks an impressive one, combining with US veteran Michael Bradley for a superb 26th-minute goal that gave the United States a 1-0 lead.
American veteran Clint Dempsey exploited a lapse in the Turkish defence to double the score in the 52nd minute.
Klinsmann took advantage of the match to give Brad Guzan, backup to starting keeper Tim Howard, some time on the pitch.
Guzan was in front of goal for the second period, and when Turkey pulled one goal back in the 90th minute with a penalty by Selcuk Inan.
“Overall what we expected – a Turkish side that can create problems for you any time,” Klinsmann said. “Already in the first half, they exploited us here and there. But overall I think it was a good game. It was quite an open game.”
The match was the United States’ second friendly since Klinsmann announced his 23-man squad for the World Cup finals in Brazil – shocking many by the omission of all-time leading US scorer Landon Donovan.
They defeated Azerbaijan 2-0 last Tuesday and will take on Nigeria in Jacksonville, Florida, next Saturday before departing for Brazil.
The United States are drawn in Group G along with Ghana, who reached the quarter-finals in the 2010 edition, Euro 2012 semi-finalists Portugal and one of the favorites for the trophy – Klinsmann’s native Germany.
Turkey didn’t qualify for the World Cup, but Klinsmann said they were a talented side that offered a good “benchmark” for his team heading into the global football showcase.
The visitors, who beat World Cup-bound Honduras 2-0 in a friendly in Washington on Thursday, had a few good chances in the opening half as the US defence struggled to get organised.
The best opportunity came in the 12th minute when Nuri Sahin found space 16 yards from goal and fired a low shot off the outside of the post.
But the American attack gathered steam and produced a quality opening goal.
Johnson played the ball to Bradley, whose chip released Johnson into the area and allowed him to fire a shot just inside the left post.
Dempsey made Turkey pay in the second half when they failed to clear Timmy Chandler’s left-wing cross, tapping in from a few yards out.
Turkey did find the net, however, after Geoff Cameron’s handball on his own goal line gave Inan the chance from the spot.
In addition to Guzan, Klinsmann brought in John Brooks and Kyle Beckerman at halftime.
He praised Jermaine Jones’ effort in the defensive midfield role, but said the starting lineup left Turkey too much room to maneuver.
“We need to close the gaps up better, so we still have a lot of work ahead of us to become more compact, more connected between the players to make it more difficult for the opponents to come through there,” Klinsmann said.
In the other Sunday night friendlies, Cameroon and Germany to a 2-2 draw punctuated by a wild second half, in which Samuel Eto’o put Cameroon ahead in the 62nd minute before Thomas Muller soon equalised and Andre Schurrle put Germany 2-1 up, only for Maxim Choupo-Moting to equalise for Cameroon in the 78th minute. France and Paraguay also drew 1-1, with the French benefitting from an Antoine Griezmann strike and Honduras failed to impress against Israel, registering a 4-2 loss. Carlo Costly and Roger Espinoza connected for the Hondurans, but they were bitten by a Maynor Figueroa own goal, the first of three goals against them in the half-hour following the break.
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