A goal in each half from Youri Tielemans and Kevin De Bruyne mean it is all to play for going into the last fixtures in UEFA EURO 2024 Group E.
Kevin De Bruyne crowned an influential all-round performance with Belgium’s second goal in Cologne
All four teams in Group E sit on three points after Youri Tielemans and Kevin De Bruyne helped Belgium get the better of Romania in Cologne.
Key moments
2′: Tielemans drives in from Lukaku lay-off
5′: Drăgușin header tipped over by Casteels
14′: Lukaku turn and shot deflected wide
18′: Niță denies Lukébakio at full stretch
31′: Doku tests Niță’s reflexes
48′: Mihăilă breaks clear but fires over
52′: De Bruyne’s bending effort whistles past post
68′: Casteels spreads himself to deny Man
80′: De Bruyne darts in to seal the points
Match in brief: Belgium pass Romania test
Belgium captain Kevin De Bruyne was a constant thorn in Romania’s side
If the story of their opening loss against Slovakia was one of missed chances, Belgium went about changing that narrative in emphatic fashion by scoring within two minutes in Cologne. In a frenetic start the ball broke for Romelu Lukaku and when he received it back from Jérémy Doku, he teed up Tielemans to rifle low and hard past Florin Niță – at 73 seconds, the third fastest goal in EURO history.
Romania responded straight away, Radu Drăgușin climbing highest to force a fine save from Koen Casteels. Doku and Lukaku continued to combine as the latter turned but saw his shot deflected wide. A typically driving run from De Bruyne then gave Dodi Lukébakio the chance to test Niță, the keeper saving at full stretch before batting away another Doku shot.
Edward Iordănescu’s men remained undeterred. They finished the half well, were on the front foot after the break and nearly gained their reward when Valentin Mihăilă burst clear only to fire over. De Bruyne went close twice and was becoming ever more influential, combining with Lukaku regularly. Casteels came to Belgium’s rescue as he denied Dennis Man when the winger got in behind.
It proved to be a huge save and the keeper then turned provider by clearing long, De Bruyne anticipating a slight flick-on and stretching out to guide in the second. Romania continued to push but Belgium saw out the final moments to get their campaign up and running.
Vivo Player of the Match: Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium)
“He made the difference. Once again the key player.”
David D’Hondt, Belgium reporter
This might just be the best 2-0 I have seen in years. It was a cracking fixture, especially the second half when Romania were compelled to attack more. Belgium put in the best performance I can recall from them for a very long time and they were deserved winners.
Cristina Tache, Romania reporter
This was one of Romania’s toughest matches. They expected to come up against a hungry Belgium team and ultimately found that to be the case. Romania rallied in the second half after the early opener and had some good chances but came up short against one of the most powerful teams in Europe, although Romania’s new generation stood up well against their opponents.
Reaction
Youri Tielemans made no mistake with Belgium’s first chance of the game
Romania coach Edward Iordănescu: “They’re a team with lots of quality, they have speed, they have explosiveness, power. They are a complete team. They are candidates to win the title. We never gave up, we fought very hard. In the second half, we were better. With a bit of luck we could have got a point. We had chances to equalise.”
Iordănescu:“In terms of challenges, this was the highest level. We had a great start to the tournament, now let’s see how we deal with adversity. We need solidarity and unity.”
Koen Casteels’ save from Dennis Man proved to be a massive moment in the game with Belgium scoring their second not long after
Key stats
- This was Belgium and Romania’s first meeting at a major international final tournament.
- Belgium have now won five of their last six EURO group matches.
- The 1-0 loss against Slovakia on Matchday 1 is Belgium’s only defeat in their last 17 matches (W11 D5).
- Belgium have drawn only two of their last 24 EURO matches and none of the last 19.
- Romania missed the chance to win successive EURO matches for the first time.
Line-ups
Belgium: Casteels; Castagne, Faes, Vertonghen, Theate (Debast 77); Tielemans (Mangala 72), Onana; Lukébakio (Trossard 56), De Bruyne, Doku (Carrasco 72); Lukaku
Romania: Niță; Rațiu (Sorescu 90), Drăgușin, Burcă, Bancu; M Marin (Olaru 68); Man, R Marin, Stanciu, Mihăilă (Hagi 68); Drăguş (Alibec 81)