Euro 2020 HIGHLIGHTS: Belgium wins 2-0 courtesy of Lukaku goal and Hradecky own goal; Finland drops to third place

Euro 2021: Follow the coverage of the EURO 2020 Group B match between Finland and Belgium at the Krestovsky Stadium(Gazprom Arena).

Romelu Lukaku celebrates scoring Belgium's second goal.

Read Sportstar's highlights of the EURO 2020 Group B match between Finland and Belgium at the Krestovsky Stadium (Gazprom Arena) in Saint Petersburg.

Read Match Report: Euro 2020: Belgium beats Finland 2-0 to secure third win Euro Points Table: EURO 2020: Points table, goals scored, goal difference - Belgium, Denmark finish one-two in Group B

Finland held on for long, but at the end, Belgium came out on top.

Hradecky, who was on course for one of his best performances of his career, put Belgium ahead with a piece of nightmarish keeping, which was not completely his own fault as he bundled Vermaelen's header into the goal.

Lukaku, then scored in the 81st minute to make it 2-0 for Belgium, which qualified to the Last 16 with a perfect record.

Finland, in third place, now waits for results of other matches to see whether it would qualify or not.

In the other Group B game, Denmark beat Russia 4-1 to finish as runner-up and qualify to the knockouts.

FULL-TIME!! (FINLAND 0 BELGIUM 2; Belgium qualifies after winning all three group games).

90+1' CHANGES- Hans Vanaken replaces Kevin De Bruyne for Belgium. For Finland, Marcus Fross and Fredrik Jensen replace Robin Lod and Teemu Pukki.

THREE ADDED MINUTES!!!

88' Finland's morale is visibly down as Belgium is moving the ball around easily without any pressure whatsoever.

Update: After a lot of twists, as things stand, Finland, which trails 2-0 to Belgium, will finish in third place if scores stay the same. Denmark is currently leading the other match against Russia, 4-1.

85' SHOT- Finland was horribly stretched as Belgium countered. Hazard, who hasn't been at his best this evening, sees his shot at the end of the counter, go over Hradecky's goal.

84' CHANGE- Christian Benteke comes on for Romelu Lukaku.

81' GOOOALLLLL!!!!! ITS LUKAKU!! Great pass by De Bruyne to Lukaku inside the box, who , despite on pressure, turns beautifully and lashes it past a helpless Hradecky.

75' CHANGE- Jeremy Doku and Leandro Trossard goes off for Michy Batshuayi and Thomas Meunier

74' GOAAALLLLLL!!! ITS A VERMAELEN HEADER!! THIS ONE COUNTS!! A nightmare for Finnish keeper Hradecky, who handled Vermaelen's header at the far-post, which initially struck the post, inside the goal. He tried to claw it back but it is too late.

Update: Russia has pulled one back through Artem Dzyuba. Finland still on second but only just.

70' CHANGES- Nikolai Ahlo and Joni Kauko replaces Jere Uronen and Joel Pohjanpalo.

67' WAIT!! GOAL DISALLOWED BY VAR!! REPLAY SHOWS LUKAKU WAS OFFISDE!! IT IS AS WE WERE!!  The Finns can breathe easy. What drama.

65' GOOOALLLLL!!!! WHO ELSE BUT LUKAKU?? DEADLOCK BROKEN!! Buts its being checked by VAR for offside.

62' BIG SAVE- What a save by Hradecky. Witsel squares the ball from the left, which is received and controlled by Hazard. he shoots with his left but Hradecky gets down quickly and saves the shot.

Update: Denmark is now 2-0 up against Russia in Copenhagen. As things said, Finland will qualify to the Last 16 as the Group B runner-up.

60' CHANGE- Tim Sparv comes off and is replaced by Rasmus Schuller .

58' CHANCE- A training ground corner by Belgium. De Bruyne plays it low and quick to Hazard, who shoots straight at Hradecky. A weak effort by the Belgian captain.

56' SHOT- Chadli shoots at Hradecky, finding himself in space after some pinball football inside Finland's penalty area. His shot is weak and the keeper collects comfortably.

52' Exquisite passing from Belgium as it tries to work the ball through Finland's defence. It all started with a Doku run, at the end of which he passes it to De Bruyne. Chadli, Hazard, Lukaku all get involved in the build-up play but the Finns stand strong.

49' A counter by Belgium out of nowhere as Doku steals the ball and darts forward. He passes to Lukaku, who cuts inside to slip in De Bruyne. He gives it to Meunier, whose cross is blocked and goes out for a corner. Nothing comes off it.

47' Finland starting the second half with more positivity than the first. 

THE REF BLOW HIS WHISTLE AND THE SECOND HALF BEGINS!!

It is not as if Belgium has not tried, but Finland has been staunch in its defending. De Bruyne has occasionally threatened, with his ball to Lukaku, whose header from eight yards out straight into Hradecky's hand remains the best chance of the match yet.

Finland has not posed much of an attacking threat but as things stand in Copenhagen, where Denmark leads Russia by one gal, it will be happy with a point, which is enough for qualification to the Last 16.

Stay tuned for the second half!!

HALF-TIME!! (Finland 0 Belgium 0)

45'+1' Hazard takes a tumble inside Finland's box and Belgium cry penalty. Referee says nothing doing.

ONE MINUTE ADDED!!

42' SAVE- Doku gets into Finland's box from the left. He switches to his right foot and tries to curl one in, but Hradecky does well to get down and make the save.

39' CHANCE- Best chance of the game so far. De Bruyne brilliantly picks out Lukaku from the left, who glances his header goalwards. But the header is straight into Hradecky's hands.

36' Play resumes with a Belgium throw in Finland's half.

35' COOLING BREAK!!! Temperatures reaching 30 degrees in Saint Petersburg!!

33' SHOT- Belgium trying to work some space as it moves the ball quickly around Finland's box. Trossard, under pressure, makes a turn and takes a shot but it is high.

32' SHOT- Axel Witsel has ample of time as he opens his body up and tries to finesse the ball into the top corner from the edge of Finland's penalty area. The shot is woefully high.

29' Finland does not look intimidated by the world's top-ranked team at all. The players look confident on the ball till now.

27' Belgium slowly shifting the gears now. De Bruyne curls in a ball from the right flank, targeting Lukaku's head. The cross has too much weight on it and is misses Lukaku.

23' BLOCK- De Bruyne made a penetrating run from the left of Finland's box as he went past three Finnish players with ease. His cut back, however, is blocked by Hradecky with the help of Raitala.

21' Lukaku skips past Arajuuri and has Hazard in space to his left, but his pass is intercepted by Toivio, which breaks the attack down.

19' De Bruyne aiming for Lukaku in the box as he squares the ball in but Arajuuri nicks the ball away before it reached the forward.

16' SHOT- Lukaku drives one past Hradecky as the ball rolls past the crossbar. It wouldn't have mattered anyway as Lukaku was offside when De Bruyne played that ball to him.

13' Uronen drives a low ball to Pukki in Belgium's penalty area but he is dispossessed by the Belgian defence.

10' Belgium dominating possession but has posed no threat on Finland's goal yet. The Finns are defending resolutely but how long can they keep this up against such a high-profile Belgian attack?

7' Finland venturing into Belgian territory for the first time as Sparv made a run from the right flank and played a forward ball to Pukki, but the defence deals with it easily.

5' There's that trademark Lukaku hold-up play. The Belgian forward looking to progress the attack and keep the Finnish defence at bay. The intent seems clear from the onset.

3' Belgium with all the possession so far. Kevin De Bruyne and Axel Witsel, a welcome sight in Belgium's midfield. It is Witsel's first game for Belgium in six months.

1' KICK-OFF!!

00:30- AND WE ARE UNDERWAY!!

00:20- What are the coaches saying with 10 minutes to kickoff?

Markku Kanerva: "The mood in the team is good and confident. We saw the Belgium line-up and of course it is very strong. We have played well so there was not much need for changes."

Roberto Martinez: "There are two reasons we are going to give our all to get the victory tonight. The first is momentum as we have to keep winning to stay in the mindset we are in.

"The second reason is so that the players that are now getting their first minutes will also feel good that they could help their team and show themselves tonight."

00:05- Finland and Belgium team changes

Finland skipper Sparv comes into the side from the defeat against Russia.

For Belgium, there is a catalogue of changes. Coach Roberto Martinez introduces eight changes from Belgium's win against Denmark. Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Meunier, Dendoncker, Tielemans, Thorgan Hazard, Mertens and Carrasco are dropped. They are replaced by Boyata, Vermaelen, Trossard, De Bruyne, Witsel, Chadli, Eden Hazard and Jeremy Doku.

23:50- Group B Permutations and Combinations

Belgium is already through to the Last-16. If Martinez's men finish top, their last 16 game comes on June 27 against one of the third-place sides from Group A, D, E or F. Finland and Russia, both are on three points and Denmark is at the bottom of the table having lost its opening two games. This means Russia will be qualify for the knockouts with a win against Denmark, or with a draw if Finland fails to beat Belgium. On the other hand, Finland will progress with a win, or a draw if Russia loses to Denmark. Denmark can finish second if it beats Russia and Belgium wins against Finland.

23:15- TEAMS ANNOUNCED!!

Finland: Lukas Hradecky; Joona Toivio, Paulus Arajuuri, Daniel O'Shaughnessy; Jukka Raitala, Robin Lod, Tim Sparv (captain), Glen Kamara, Jere Uronen; Joel Pohjanpalo, Teemu Pukki

Coach: Markku Kanerva

Belgium: Thibaut Courtois; Thomas Vermaelen, Jason Denayer, Dedryck Boyata; Nacer Chadli, Axel Witsel, Kevin De Bruyne, Leandro Trossard, Eden Hazard (captain)

Coach: Roberto Martinez

23:00- Suspension list

Kamara, Lod, O’Shaugnessy, Sparv of Finland will miss their next match if they are booked.

22:45- What the coaches said

Roberto Martinez: "There will be changes against Finland but it is exactly the same approach because it prepares you to keep winning. We are not here to go as far as we can but rather to be as good as we can. And that means you have to win every game and that prepares you indirectly to be ready for whatever we might be facing ahead." Markku Kanerva: "It is great that we have a chance to face the two best teams in the world. Although it was a friendly, the France game gave us an idea of how we can do well against the best teams."

Match Preview

Finland faces a daunting challenge against the world's highest-ranked team Belgium to qualify for the Euro 2020 knockouts in its maiden tournament, but coach Markku Kanerva is taking inspiration from his side's ability to surprise the top nations.

"A draw will probably be enough to qualify," he said of the final Group B game in St. Petersburg on Monday for Finland, who sit on three points after an opening win against Denmark.

"When I started as head coach in the Finnish team one of the first matches was a friendly against Belgium and we managed a draw," he added at a news conference on Sunday, recalling a 1-1 result in 2016.

Kanerva called Monday's game - taking place at the same time as Denmark meet Russia in Copenhagen - the biggest ever for Finland, which sits 53 places below Belgium in the FIFA rankings.

"We still have a chance to win the group - it's completely in our own hands," he said.

"The most important part of our task is to focus on the part we can actually control, and that is our own game. We have our colleagues who will keep us informed about the situation between Russia and Denmark, but hopefully we won't need that information."

After beating the Danes, the Finns then lost to Russia but it believes other past heroics such as a 2-0 friendly win over France in November will help them against Belgium.

"It is great that we have a chance to face the two best teams in the world. Although it was a friendly, the France game gave us an idea of how we can do well against the best teams," Kanerva said.

"Now we are facing the number one in the FIFA world ranking, the experience with France gives us the idea that we can beat big teams."

The Finns is third in Group B behind Belgium and Russia. The top two goes through to the knockout stage, along with the four best third-place finishers from the six groups.

--( Via Reuters)--

Full Squads Belgium Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois, Simon Mignolet, Matz Sels; Defenders: Toby Alderweireld, Dedryck Boyata, Timothy Castagne, Thomas Meunier, Jason Denayer, Thomas Vermaelen, Jan Vertonghen; Midfielders: Yannick Carrasco, Nacer Chadli, Thorgan Hazard, Kevin de Bruyne, Leander Dendoncker, Eden Hazard, Dennis Praet, Youri Tielemans, Hans Vanaken, Axel Witsel; Forwards: Jeremy Doku, Dries Mertens, Leandro Trossard, Michy Batshuayi, Christian Benteke, Romelu Lukaku Finland Goalkeepers : Lukas Hradecky, Anssi Jaakkola, Jesse Joronen ; Defenders : Paulus Arajuuri, Robert Ivanov, Thomas Lam, Daniel O'Shaughnessy, Jukka Raitala, Joona Toivio, Jere Uronen, Leo Väisänen, Niko Hamalainen ; Midfielders : Nikolai Alho, Fredrik Jensen, Glen Kamara, Joni Kauko, Robin Lod, Rasmus Schuller, Pyry Soiri, Tim Sparv, Robert Taylor, Onni Valakari; Forwards : Marcus Forss, Lassi Lappalainen, Joel Pohjanpalo, Teemu Pukki

Watch UEFA EURO 2020 LIVE on Sony Ten 2 (English) and Sony Ten 4 (Tamil & Telugu) channels from June 12.