Northern Ireland edge past Belgium

Northern Ireland claimed third place in Group 5 after beating hosts Belgium 2-1 in their final match of the section.

The visitors took the initiative from the start with Thomas McAloon and Matthew Clarke forcing home goalkeeper Guillaume Hubert into early action. Belgium had their best chance through Dennis Praet at the end of the first half, but his shot veered the wrong side of the right upright.

The second half was just 45 seconds old when Northern Ireland took the lead, McAloon darting into the area and driving his finish into the bottom-right corner. Eight minutes later it was 2-0, captain David Morgan striking with a sublime effort from 20 metres.

Belgium refused to give in and a header from their captain Bernard Malanda-Adje required substitute goalkeeper Christopher Johns to make an outstanding save. Praet's 20-metre free-kick after 61 minutes left the contest in the balance but Northern Ireland were not to be denied.

"It has been a very good learning experience," Northern Ireland coach Paul Kee told UEFA.com. "It is definitely something to be proud about: to finish third behind England and Spain and above Belgium, who also have a good team."

"After the reasonable matches we played against Spain and England, third place was certainly our objective today," Belgium coach Eric Abrams told UEFA.com. "But we put in a performance today that was not up with the quality this team has. We just hope the lads will learn from it as an elite round tournament is a learning experience in their careers."