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KAZAN, Russia (AP) – Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku will not complain that his team's award for winning his World Cup group ends up in what appears to be the most hard draw. Brazilian champion in the quarterfinals.
The Friday night game in Kazan brings together the top two ranked teams of the tournament after the untimely exit of Germany. Brazil is ranked second and Belgium third. Whoever wins plays either in France or in Uruguay.
At a press conference Thursday, Lukaku said that the disappointing experience of Belgium at the 2016 European Championship showed that nothing should be taken for granted in football and that Brazil will provide a "reference" for its team.
"If you want to achieve something, you have to fight every time," said Lukaku, who impressed at the World Cup with four goals and is second in the Golden Boot race, behind the Englishman Harry Kane with six.
"Everyone was saying that you had to come in second place (in Group G) … but look at the European Championship while we had the same route as England now and that the things went wrong. "
In Euro 2016, Belgium, considered the easiest part of the draw, was eliminated in the quarter-finals by Wales, which was in its first big competition since almost 60 years.
England, second behind Belgium in Group G, may have finished in the easier part of the draw after both teams made big changes for their last group match, won by Belgium 1-0.
Belgium rebounded by two goals to beat Japan 3-2 in the round of 16.
England plays Sweden in Saturday's quarterfinals, at first glance, a much easier proposition than meeting Brazil. The winner of England against Sweden will then meet Croatia or Russia.
With arguably his best collection of Thibaut Courtois players ahead of midfielder Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard and Lukaku in front, Belgium is trying to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup. world for the first time since 1986.
Although Belgium and Brazil are equal in terms of quality, coach Roberto Martinez said that there was a simple difference between the two teams.
"The difference is that we did not win a World Cup, it's as simple as that … you go to a tournament where you do not have the know-how to win the tournament, "said Martinez.
The coach said that Thierry Henry, who was part of the 1998 world champion team at the World Cup, helped fill this gap.
"He knows how you feel as a player when you're in this situation, when you see an opportunity, when you have to deal with the pressure," Martinez said. "His contribution in this regard has been very important."
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