Real Madrid survived an early Atletico Madrid onslaught to reach the Champions League final 4-2 on aggregate on Wednesday and set up a mouth-watering clash against Juventus.
The Chelsea playmaker gave Lukaku a piece of his mind in Sochi on Monday after Belgium had huffed and puffed but failed to blow Panama's modest defensive fortress down before the interval.
It took a great escape in injury time to get there after being two goals down to Japan, but Belgium can now view their quarter-final against Brazil free of the weight of expectation.
IMAGES from the UEFA Champions League quarter-final played between Atletico Madrid and Leipzig on Thursday.
Atletico aim for Champions League revenge against Real at fourth attempt.
Antoine Griezmann and Yannick Carrasco each conjured moments of magic as Atletico Madrid recaptured top spot in La Liga from Barcelona with a hard-fought 2-0 victory at Celta Vigo on Sunday.
Lionel Messi's double strike helped Barcelona scrape a 3-2 victory over Real Sociedad on Saturday to keep the pressure on La Liga leaders Real Madrid, who needed a brace from Isco to beat Sporting Gijon by the same scoreline.
Leaders Barcelona played out a second straight 0-0 draw in LaLiga after mid-table Getafe battled for a home point in a hard-fought game on Sunday.
Rampant Wales defeated Belgium 3-1 to reach the Euro 2016 semi-finals with a victory that included a sensational strike by Hal Robson-Kanu and a goal for captain Ashley Williams on Friday.
Belgium paid the price for failing to take their chances against France
Belgium passed a test of character with a display of true grit that bodes well for a World Cup quarter-final against Brazil, coach Roberto Martinez said after they came from 2-0 behind to beat Japan 3-2 in injury time.
Just as he did two years ago, Sergio Ramos left his footprint all over Real Madrid's Champions League final triumph over Atletico Madrid following a turbulent 12 months.
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone rates Antoine Griezmann as one of the top three players in the world and says the forward owes it to his ability to work hard and the willingness to listen.
Belgium hammered the final nail into Egypt's halting World Cup warm-up campaign with an assured 3-0 win in Brussels on Wednesday that settled some nerves among the fancied hosts.
Holders Barcelona crashed out of the Champions League after being stifled by a brilliantly well-organised Atletico Madrid.
Images from La Liga matches played on Saturday.
Atletico Madrid suffered a first defeat in 13 games in all competitions as they lost 1-0 at home to Villarreal on Tuesday after a late strike from substitute Roberto Soriano.
Gareth Bale marked his return to action after a long injury layoff by sealing a 2-0 victory for Real Madrid over Espanyol on Saturday to provisionally stretch Zinedine Zidane's side's lead at the top of La Liga to three points.
Cristiano Ronaldo converted one penalty, missed another and also scored from open play as Portugal beat Latvia 4-1 in their World Cup qualifier on Sunday. On a typically dramatic night for the Portugal captain, Ronaldo fired the European champions ahead from his first spot kick of the evening in the first half, but missed a chance to double their lead when his second effort struck the post.
Belgium fought back from two goals down to beat Japan 3-2 with an added-time goal from substitute Nacer Chadli on Monday to set up a World Cup quarter-final with Brazil.
A late goal by Toni Kroos sealed victory as Real Madrid defeated an impressive Celta Vigo side 2-1 to win their first home La Liga game of the campaign on Saturday.
Holders Barcelona produced a second-half blitz to come from behind and beat Athletic Bilbao 3-1 to book a place in the King's Cup semi-finals after Atletico Madrid crashed out in a shock 3-2 defeat by Celta Vigo.
A round-up of Saturday's action in the Nations League.
Images from Wednesday's action in the Champions League.
Atletico Madrid won the La Liga title for the first time since 2014
Belgium have retained injured Vincent Kompany in their final World Cup squad but put fellow defender Laurent Ciman on standby in case the Manchester City skipper is not fit for their opening match in Russia.
A makeshift England side beat Romania 1-0 in their final Euro 2020 warm-up game, while Belgium's Romelu Lukaku underlined his status as one of the world's top strikers with his 60th international goal to secure a 1-0 win over Croatia.
Belgium have scored 14 goals in five matches and were hugely impressive in their 2-1 quarter-final victory over Brazil, with Romelu Lukaku, Eden Hazard and Kevin de Bruyne combining to devastating effect to oust the five-times world champions.
An off-key Liverpool were frustrated for a second successive game by struggling opponents as they were held to a 0-0 Premier League draw at Newcastle United on Wednesday.
Luis Suarez struck twice and Lionel Messi scored on his 500th appearance for Barcelona who set a new Spanish record of goals in a calendar year with a 4-0 win over Real Betis that lifted them top of La Liga on Wednesday.
Mbappe becomes PSG's all-time highest goal-scorer as French champions extend lead
Lionel Messi notched a 20th assist of the season to help a lacklustre Barcelona secure a 1-0 win away to Real Valladolid on Saturday, maintaining the pressure on La Liga leaders Real Madrid. Cristiano Ronaldo converted two penalties, both awarded for handballs and the second in the last minute, as Serie A leader Juventus twice hit back to draw 2-2 with Atalanta to move closer to a ninth successive Serie A title on Saturday.
IMAGES from football matches played in the Spain, Germany and Portugal on Wednesday.
The Welsh, who reached the Euro 2016 semi-finals, finished runners-up on 14 points from eight games, three behind Croatia who sealed their berth on Saturday with a 3-1 win over Slovakia.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
IMAGES from the football matches played across Europe on Sunday.
A round-up of Wednesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
Cristiano Ronaldo ensured Atletico Madrid fans will have bitter memories of the last local derby at the Vicente Calderon stadium by scoring a hat-trick in a 3-0 win for La Liga leaders Real Madrid on Saturday. Ronaldo's deflected free kick put Real in charge in the 23rd minute in the first meeting of the teams since the Champions League final in May. The prolific Portuguese killed off Atletico's resistance by winning and converting a penalty in the 71st minute and capped a harrowing night for the home side by tapping in the third in the 77th.
There is never a dearth of drama in European football and here is proof...
Barcelona battled back from a goal down and scored twice in the second half to overcome hosts Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-1 in their Champions League Group C match on Wednesday despite the absence of the injured Lionel Messi.
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