belgium beat hungary to win bronze published: friday 3 october 2003, 9.47cet
paul van himst capped a landmark day for he and his country with the goal that ultimately earned the hosts third place.
it proved a memorable day for paul van himst in particular as hosts belgium beat hungary 2-1 to finish third.
outclassed by west germany in the semi-finals, belgium dusted themselves down in impressive fashion. for van himst, who equaled the belgian record for most caps (68), it was an unforgettable occasion which was topped off by a goal which also drew him level with his country's best-ever haul of 30.
belgium were already one to the good by that point, raoul lambert beating miklós páncsics twice, leaving him on his backside, before shooting high and left-footed to the goalkeeper's right. lambert then went up the left and delivered a cross which, after a mistake by istván géczi left the hungarian goalkeeper stranded, presented van himst with an open goal.
lambert later went round the goalkeeper only to send a shot trickling wide. with jan verheyen marking flórián albert out of the game, hungary were lucky to pull a goal back when lajos kü, having been felled by léon semmeling, converted the subsequent penalty. van himst and lambert both spurned second-half opportunities to add to their tallies but there was no way back for hungary.
