Romelu Lukaku's late goal rescued a 1-1 draw for Belgium after it was moments away from suffering its first defeat of FIFA World Cup qualifying against nine-man Greece.

Roberto Martinez's side — missing stars Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard — went into the game with a 100 per cent record, but was outwitted in Brussels by Greece, which arrived with a smash-and-grab game plan that almost produced a famous victory.

Kostas Mitroglou scored in the opening moments of the second half before Greece, which had Panagiotis Tachtsidis sent off for a second bookable offence after 65 minutes, hung on until the 89th minute, when its hearts were broken.

Lukaku's superb volley allowed Martinez to breathe a sigh of relief and he came close to a last-gasp winner with a powerful header that was eventually hacked clear, but the game ended level and with tempers frayed as Georgios Tzavellas was also given his marching orders.

The result moves Greece up to second in UEFA Group H, while Belgium remains top, but Martinez will face intensified scrutiny after a disappointing performance and the first game of Belgium's campaign not to end in victory.