Hazard urges Belgium to learn lessons ahead of Euro 2016

Eden Hazard has told Belgium they must learn to cope with defensive opponents ahead of Euro 2016.

The country’s captain played the full match on Wednesday as substitute Romelu Lukaku netted with one minute remaining to salvage a 1-1 draw against Finland in Brussels. 

It was a frustrating night for Belgium against a team who had lost all of their previous four matches with aggregate scoreline of 11-0, with Michy Batshuayi heading against the post as Marc Wilmots’ men racked up a total of 35 shots on goal.

Chelsea attacker Hazard was not too disheartened after the match, but urged Belgium to learn the lessons with only one preparation match – against Norway on Sunday – to come ahead of the Euros.

“I think we played a good match,” he told RTBF. “We still had a lot of chances and a lot of attacks. 

“We hit the post and had a ball stopped on the line. We have tried, but could not achieve what we wanted.

“At the other end, Finland converted their only opening into a goal, so these are the only two black marks – one goal conceded and what we were missing before scoring the goal.

“We have many players who can make the difference. It scares opponents who play more defensively. We will have to deal with that for the Euros.”

Hazard did not want to blame tiredness for the poor result after Belgium had won 2-1 in Switzerland last Saturday.

“We played against Switzerland a few days ago and you have to be able to string performances together,” added the 25-year-old.

“We must learn to move on between games for the Euros, but Finland defended and played primarily to not concede. They had five at the back and it was difficult to create space.”