RIJEKA, Croatia, June 3 (Reuters) - Belgium are seeking to temper any expectations after an impressive away victory in Croatia on Tuesday, where a goal from Romelu Lukaku came as a major boost ahead of the World Cup.
Belgium’s top scorer netted his 90th international goal in the 2-0 win, as both countries continued World Cup preparations, marking his return to the team after a 12-month absence and seemingly putting behind him a difficult season in which he played less than an hour’s football for Napoli.
“For him, it's huge. He lives for goals. So the fact that he scored is something we're really happy about,” said coach Rudi Garcia.
“You also saw the reaction of his teammates. They all went over to celebrate with him, and he deserves it.
“Our top scorer, our super top scorer, has scored again, and that's fantastic. That goal is good for his confidence. Still, we have to remain cautious. It can be dangerous to rush things. We need to bring him along step by step,” the coach told reporters.
Lukaku has been struggling with a hamstring injury and last played in early March.
“However, he showed once again that he's further along than we thought. With long injury absences, it often works like this: you can be very good at the beginning and then suffer a setback afterwards,” Garcia warned.
Belgium captain Youri Tielemans latched onto a defensive slip to give Belgium the lead against the run of play, but the visitors proved much stronger in the second half with Lukaku’s stoppage-time goal adding lustre to the win.
“I think it was a tight, closely contested match,” added veteran midfielder Kevin De Bruyne.
“We tested a few things, perhaps not necessarily with the aim of fully implementing everything for the World Cup. As a team, we were quite compact and didn't give away much. Here and there, we're still searching for a few things, and there are aspects where we can play better.”
“This is a good start, but we need to stay calm. So much can still change. There will also be moments during the World Cup when things become more difficult. This team wants to approach it in a positive way," De Bruyne said.
Belgium have a second warm-up international against Tunisia in Brussels on Saturday before heading to the United States where they meet Egypt in their opening Group G match in Seattle on June 15.
(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
