National Team Friendly

National stadium
Spectators: 10300 (Terracing: 7725, Seating: 2369, VIP seats: 206) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Gordon Harkin took the kick off in the first half of the match. Manuel Campens showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Lúcio da Silva in the 11th minute of the match. Ireland's Lúcio da Silva got a good chance for a goal in the 12th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. 16 minutes into the match, Belgium's Mbaka Mbolu sent off a blazing shot straight on target, a shot that Ter Stegen narrowly saved just below the crossbar. 18 minutes into the match, Mbaka Mbolu dribbled the ball past the defender and swiftly kicked the ball to the left of Ter Stegen, 1-0. Manuel Campens showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Gordon Harkin, who was totally free with the ball in the 23rd minute. An unexpectedly hard shot by Gordon Harkin in the 26th minute of play forced Belgium's goalkeeper Manuel Campens to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. With a little luck, Ireland's Ter Stegen got control of the ball when Mbaka Mbolu tried to sneak it across the goal line. With his leg Ter Stegen managed to avoid a goal in the 31stth minute, when Belgium's Mbaka Mbolu fired away a shot with a lot of spin towards his right hand side. 39 minutes into the match, Lúcio da Silva notched a goal, 1-1, to the right of Belgium's Manuel Campens. Manuel Campens was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. Belgium's Mbaka Mbolu got a good chance for a goal in the 45th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. After fighting hard for a draw in the first half, the players were able to take a much needed rest.

The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when Mbaka Mbolu stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. 55 minutes into the match, Ireland's goal looked a bit too open when Conny Komen came free, but Ter Stegen reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. After taking down the ball on Belgium's corner Joel Wigghers fired away a hard shot, but the defenders efficiently covered the most dangerous angles and Ter Stegen quite easily take care of the ball. Ter Stegen showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Mbaka Mbolu, who was totally free with the ball in the 59th minute. After a defensive mix-up in Belgium's zone, Gordon Harkin stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Manuel Campens came out of the goal and Gordon Harkin tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Belgium's Jean-Louis Ouaddou was substituted for Sean Westelinx. Ireland's Ter Stegen played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Mbaka Mbolu in the 79th minute of play. In the 82nd minute, Mbaka Mbolu made a precise shot to the right of Ter Stegen. Ireland's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 2-1. Ireland's Patty Hutton was substituted for Gordon Horgan. Ter Stegen showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Jean-Louis Ouaddou in the 86th minute of the match. In the 94th minute Mbaka Mbolu shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Ter Stegen saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. 94 minutes into the match, Mbaka Mbolu notched a goal, 3-1, to the right of Ireland's Ter Stegen. Ter Stegen was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. Belgium were really happy, having secured the victory after a very even contest. They thanked the players of Ireland for a fine match.