ZAGREB, Croatia -- Belgium qualified for the World Cup on Friday, relying on two goals from striker Romelu Lukaku to beat closest Group A challenger Croatia 2-1. [url=https://www.saintsjerseyssale.com/]Custom New Orleans Saints Jerseys[/url] . Lukaku put Belgium ahead in the 16th minute, when he coll

ZAGREB, Croatia -- Belgium qualified for the World Cup on Friday, relying on two goals from striker Romelu Lukaku to beat closest Group A challenger Croatia 2-1. Custom New Orleans Saints Jerseys . Lukaku put Belgium ahead in the 16th minute, when he collected a deep pass from Steven Defour and used his pace to outrun defenders before he faked his way around goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa to put the ball in the empty net. He relied on his speed again in the 38th minute after collecting a pass deep in his own half and chasing the ball down the field. After getting past Pletikosa, he was able to jog with the ball across the line. "With such players around me, it can only be easy," said Lukaku, the Chelsea forward who is on loan at Everton this season. Croatia got a consolation goal from Niko Kranjcar on a long-range effort in the 83rd minute. Belgium has 25 points from nine games and an insurmountable eight-point lead over Croatia to qualify as Group A winner. As soon as the Red Devils had a two-goal lead, it was up to standout goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois of Atletico Madrid and the defensive shield set up by coach Marc Wilmots to keep Belgiums perfect away record intact. Courtois had to slap out a header from Mario Mandzukic close to halftime and, when the lead was down to just one goal with two minutes to go, made a daring dive at the feet of the Bayern Munich striker to prevent an equalizer. "We showed that we could set up a tight organization and counter," Courtois said. Victory also meant that Belgium should end up among the group leaders during the Dec. 6 draw for the 2014 tournament in Brazil. The loss condemned Croatia to the two-game playoffs for runners-up in the European groups next month. "We played against one of the best teams in Europe for counterattacks," Croatia coach Igor Stimac said. Belgium had failed to qualify for an international championship since the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea, but the whole nation had anticipated an end to the long wait following the rise of a new standout generation of players. Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo had even travelled especially to Zagreb for the game. Belgian clubs are largely a non-factor in European cup competitions and none of the starting 11 play in their home league. Instead many have become prominent players for top foreign clubs, with household names like Manchester Citys Vincent Kompany, Chelseas Eden Hazard and Courtois. Belgium came to Croatia without injured captain Kompany and Aston Villa forward Christian Benteke, who found a perfect replacement in Lukaku. Wales played Macedonia in a late game that had no bearing on the top of the standings. New Orleans Saints Shirts . -- Rory McIlroy birdied his last two holes Thursday for a 7-under 63 to take the lead after one round of the Honda Classic. New Orleans Saints Pro Shop . - Even with a new coach, the Denver Nuggets still love to push the basketball. https://www.saintsjerseyssale.com/ . The punch happened in the fourth quarter of Milwaukees 116-102 loss to the Kings on Wednesday when the two players became entangled while battling for rebounding position.Emma Eliasson scored with 4:15 to play and Sweden beat defending bronze medalist Finland 4-2 in the Olympic womens hockey quarter-finals Saturday -- a reversal of the result from the third-place game four years ago. Valentina Wallner made 29 saves for Sweden, which will play the United States in the semifinals. Finland, the No. 3 seed in the world, drops to the classification bracket and can finish no better than fifth. Two-time NCAA champion Noora Raty made 28 saves for Finland. But she could not see Eliassons slapshot from the blue line that held up as the game-winner. The game was a rough one for womens hockey, which does not allow the body-checking that would be familiar to fans of the NHL or the mens international game. Finlands Nina Tikkinen was cross-checked to the ice in front of the Sweden net, banging her head on the ice as she landed, and a skirmish at the other end led to four-minute roughing penalties for Minttu Tuominen of Finland and Erika Grahm of Sweden. Saints Jerseys 2021. Finland took the lead 13 minutes into the second when Wallner stopped Linda Valimakis shot with her blocker but left it in front for Venla Hovi. Sweden tied it on a power-play goal early in the second period when Anna Borgqvists shot deflected off a defencemans stick and the tip of Ratys skate into the net. Lina Wester gave Sweden the lead with 14:51 left in the third, but Finland tied it just 12 seconds later when Karoliina Rantamaki dug the puck out from behind the net and passed it in front to Emma Nuutinen. Sweden took a 3-2 lead on Eliassons power-play goal and Emma Nordin added an empty-netter. ' ' '