Free-scoring Belgium target 16 goals to get free TVs

Belgium scored nine goals in their three 2018 FIFA World Cup group games - more than any other country - and forward Dries Mertens says he is motivated by more than just winning the trophy.

Belgium forward Dries Mertens Source: Getty Images

Mertens, scorer of an outrageous volley against Panama that opened Belgium's account in Russia, joked that friends back home were counting on him to help the team hit a target of 16 goals to make good on a retailer's special FIFA World Cup promotion.

Asked by reporters at their training camp near Moscow about Belgium's free-scoring run, the Napoli player noted that a Belgian electrical chain was offering to reimburse people who bought a TV for the FIFA World Cup - if the team score more than 15 goals.

"My friends bought the television. So I'm thinking about that. So I want to score a lot of goals to give a free television to my friends," he declared ahead of Belgium's last-16 clash with Japan.