Chelsea star Eden Hazard on a par with Lionel Messi - he can decide to make a game his own, says Belgium coach Graeme Jones

Shining star: Eden Hazars
AP
Tom Collomosse27 June 2018

Eden Hazard is now on the same level as Lionel Messi, according to Belgium assistant coach Graeme Jones.

Hazard is likely to be rested for tomorrow’s Group G decider with England in Kaliningrad, with both teams having already qualified for the last 16, but he has already made his mark on the tournament.

Hazard scored twice in Belgium’s 5-2 win over Tunisia, which ensured they would advance from their group, after he had also created a goal for Romelu Lukaku in their opening 3-0 victory over Panama.

Jones, who is No2 to Belgium coach Roberto Martinez, now sees little difference between Hazard and Argentina’s talisman. He said: “If you look at the FA Cup Final between Chelsea and Manchester United, Eden won the trophy on his own for Chelsea that day.

“They won 1-0, Eden won the penalty and then scored it, He is at that stage in his career where he has become a match-winner. There aren’t many in international football. Messi is also one of them.”

Messi struggled in his first two games at the tournament but helped Argentina set up a last-16 tie with France by scoring a brilliant goal against Nigeria last night, which guided his team to a 2-1 win.

Life has been much easier for Hazard in the tournament but Englishman Jones, who has known Martinez since they played at Wigan in the 1990s, believes he can handle anything thrown at him.

Jones told Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws: “Eden is at his peak. He is fit, mentally strong, he has experience and is comfortable with his game.

In Pictures | England 2018 World Cup Training | 27.06.18

1/16

“He is at such a level that before a game he can say: ‘I’ll make this match my own’.”

With both Belgium and England having secured their last-16 places, some have suggested that it would be better to finish second in the group.

Japan, Colombia and Senegal will contest the two qualifying spots in Group H, and the sides that progress will face Belgium and England.

There is a chance that the side finishing second in Group G would face either Mexico or Switzerland in the quarter-finals, with the winners contemplating a tougher-looking tie against either Brazil or reigning world champions Germany.

England insist their only thoughts are to win the game but Jones is more cautious. “This is perhaps one of the most bizarre international matches ever,” he said.

“Do both teams want to win? Do they want to draw? To lose?

“If it were up to me, I would go for the win. I would not calculate. But I am not the head coach.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in