Both managers selected strong lineups as they gear towards the tournament, with Luka Modric and Kevin De Bruyne among the star names included from the start.

But chances were few and far between throughout the first half, until Belgium captain Youri Tielemans finished neatly in the 38th minute.

The Aston Villa man swept into the bottom-right corner on his left foot after Jeremy Doku's left-wing centre deflected off Josip Sutalo and Maxim De Cuyper before landing in his path.

Modric then saw a lovely outside-of-the-boot effort turned around the post by his former Real Madrid team-mate Thibaut Courtois late in the first half, and Croatia went closer still on the hour as Ante Budimir's header crashed off the crossbar. 

The woodwork was rattled in a similar manner at the other end, with Tielemans's set-piece delivery being nodded against the bar by Hans Vanaken.

Belgium introduced Lukaku – who made just seven appearances for Napoli in 2025-2026 – for the final 17 minutes, and after Croatia's Marco Pasalic went close from range, the Red Devils' all-time leading scorer raced onto Vanaken's pass to add a stoppage-time second.