Romelu Lukaku scored twice and Axel Witsel once as Belgium got off the mark at Euro 2016, comfortably beating Republic of Ireland 3-0 in Bordeaux.
Marc Wilmots made three changes to the Belgium side that lost against Italy, with Mousa Dembele and Yannick Carrasco replacing Radja Nainggolan and Marouane Fellaini in midfield, while Thomas Meunier came in for Laurent Ciman at right-back.
A goalless first half saw Belgium create the best chances with Kevin De Bruyne their driving force, but it was after half-time that the Red Devils really came to life, taking the lead in controversial circumstances when Toby Alderweireld's high foot could have resulted in a penalty for Ireland.
From the clearance that followed, Belgium countered with great effect through De Bruyne who fed Lukaku on the edge of the box and the Everton striker calmly curled his shot into the left-hand corner of the goal and beyond Ireland goalkeeper Darren Randolph.
Shortly before the hour Dembele was replaced by Nainggolan, but it was another midfielder, Axel Witsel who would make the decisive contribution soon after. The Zenit St Petersburg man ghosted into the Ireland box to head home a Meunier cross and double Belgium's lead.
And in the 70th minute the game was effectively over when Eden Hazard set up Lukaku for his second and Belgium's third with a straightforward finish inside the penalty area.
That result leaves Belgium needing one point from their final group game against Sweden to secure place in the round of 16. Ireland will almost certainly need to beat Italy to stand a chance of making it through.
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