Belgian media was scrambling on Wednesday for new superlatives after the Red Devils beat the United States 2-1 to go through to the World Cup quarterfinals in a tense match that saw all goals occur during extra time.
“Insane thriller,” Het Nieuwsblad daily wrote on its front page.
“Magical!”, added La Capitale , while La Libre Belgique simply said, “Diabolical!”.
“Heroic!”, wrote Avenir of Tuesday night’s game, which wrapped up at around midnight in Belgium. “For 120 minutes, the Devils made the Americans suffer.”
The Belgian team will face Argentina in Saturday’s quarterfinal, reaching that stage for the first time in 28 years.
“Belgium is waking up with a heavy head, maybe, but certainly with the exhilarating feeling of simple and collective happiness,” wrote commentator Christophe Berti in Le Soir . “On Saturday, they have an appointment with history. It’s that simple.”
“After a heroic duel with the US, the Red Devils can prepare for a confrontation with (Argentina’s) Lionel Messi,” wrote Het Laatste Niews . “After a fight that we could not really lose — have we ever had so many opportunities? — the well-deserved reward came after 120 minutes,” the Dutch-language daily added.
Social networking site Twitter reported that 9.1 million tweets were posted during Tuesday’s match. One of those active online was Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo, who sent a message to the US president at the end of the game.
I told you so >@BarackObama :-) >#BELUSA>#BEL>#RodeDuivels>#DiablesRouges
— Elio Di Rupo (@eliodirupo) >July 1, 2014
The mood was euphoric in Belgium, where more than 15,000 people followed the match on giant screens at the King Baudouin stadium in Heyzel, on the edge of Brussels.
Impromptu street parties were held in the capital, with several roads closed to traffic in the city centre.
