By Daily Sports on July 7, 2018

After Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi's exit from the World Cup , Chelsea and Belgium star Eden Hazard admitted it was 'time to shine' on the biggest stage of all.

And he is duly doing so, helping lead Belgium to the semi-finals of the World Cup, where they will face France in a mouth-watering clash next Tuesday.

Hazard may have not scored in Kazan but he proved a real nightmare, dumping

Neymar and Co out of the competition.

Hazard led from the front for the Red Devils on Friday, dazzling on the left and running the Brazil defence absolutely ragged.

While he may not have got on the scoresheet, he thrived alongside fellow Premier League stars Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku.

The Chelsea man caused Fagner a host of problems and was instrumental as Belgium counter-attacked in style, using his pace and trickery to lead the deadly attacks and dump the favourites out of the World Cup.

Neymar has won the acclaim of being just below Ronaldo and Messi in the pecking order and after their shock 7-1 defeat at the hands of Germany at their own World Cup, it was expected the Brazilian would shine in Russia.

But his summer ended in disaster, with Neymar failing to influence proceedings in Kazan against Roberto Martinez's outfit.

Despite getting into dangerous positions and putting the Belgium defence on the back foot at times, Neymar found it tough against a strong and powerful Belgium side.

Marouane Fellaini's elbow early on on Neymar set the tone. In the opening stages, Belgium's defence let the PSG star know they would not be giving him an easy ride.

Hazard's endless energy proved a real thorn in Brazil's defence. The 27-year-old never stopped running down the flanks and stretched the opposition, putting fear into Tite's side.

But it wasn't just his attacking work-rate on the ball that paid off. The winger helped ease pressure on his defensive team-mates by coming short for the ball when needed.

Thanks to his dazzling footwork, Hazard won his side vital free-kicks, helping run down time with Brazil applying all the pressure in the second half.

The £198million man may have had a quiet opening period, but he stepped up his intensity in the second half.

With Brazil down 2-0, Neymar was at the forefront of all attacks and worked tirelessly to get his side back into the game.

With the Selecao very much chasing the game late on, Neymar found himself up top and was solely used for his attacking duties.

Hazard may not be a natural leader compared to the likes of Vincent Kompany and Co but he more than does his talking with the ball and work rate.

The former Lille man inspires his team-mates onto greater things thanks to his dazzling performances.

With Hazard upping his game, De Bruyne, Lukaku and Co followed. Led by example in the front three.

He may not be Brazil's captain but Neymar is definitely the talisman of Tite's team, the one every player looks up to.

But that failed to come to fruition on Friday, with Neymar struggling to conjure up his magic against a rugged Belgium midfield and defence.

Neymar may have attracted plenty of the ball but he couldn't take the game by the scruff of the neck when Brazil needed it most. In fact, arguably in Russia, Philippe Coutinho has been the country's main star.

Whether it's with Chelsea or Belgium, Hazard frustratingly finds himself on the floor more than he would like.

But that's more down to his fantastic trickery, with defenders struggling to cope with his fast feet.

Hazard let his football do the talking on Friday, helping fire Belgium into the last four of the World Cup, where they will face France.

Much of the talk coming into this game has been about Neymar's theatrics, with his antics against Mexico causing plenty of dismay among football fans worldwide.

And on Friday, Neymar caused even more controversy after he went down easily in the area on 52 minutes after tangling legs with Manchester United midfielder Fellaini.

The Brazilian dragged out his right foot and caught Fellaini's before going down in the box. However, rightly so, the referee waved play on after consulting VAR.

And with just minutes to go, Neymar again went down in the area, thrusting himself to the ground after a slight push from Thomas Meunier. Definitely did not warrant a penalty and the referee saw it that way too.

Less of the histrionics and Neymar would be respected much more by the world of football. (Daily Mail)

Source Daily Sports

Posted July 7, 2018

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