June 22 – With a commanding performance and a goal, Kevin De Bruyne steered Belgium to a 2-0 victory against Romania, leaving all four Group E teams on three points.
All it took for Belgium to quell a major crisis was 74 seconds Romelu Lukaku’s hold-up play and Youri Tielemans’s sweet finish gave them the lead as they quickly found some form.
It was the Belgians’ first goal at a finals since their defeat of Canada at the World Cup in Qatar.
That tournament was a low point for the Red Devils and it had seemed that this European championship could go the same way following a shock 1-0 defeat to Slovakia.
In Cologne, they needed to find answers and get a result against the Romanians. Tielemans’s early strike was instructive: he had not featured against Slovakia but was among the four new names Domenico Tedesco introduced for this match; Lukaku responded in part to his critics by providing the assist.
Kevin De Bruyne was at the centre of Belgium’s dominance
Belgium were up and running. The team has problems that England are familiar with – it is top-heavy but light on left-backs. After their second-minute strike, the Belgians however controlled the match and caused havoc in the Romanian box: Lukaku, with all his sheer force, pivoted in the box to see his shot deflect wide and Lukebakio prompted a wonderful save from Florin Nita after Kevin De Bruyne had burst forward.
Romania struggled to deal with the speed of wingers Dodi Lukebakio, who replaced Leandro Trossard in the starting XI, and Jeremy Doku.
As a team, Belgium were much more confident and De Bruyne found more space, and thus more joy. He constantly wanted the ball and outclassed those in yellow. Every Belgian attack carried a sense of danger. Tedesco, it seemed, had got his line-up right. The Romanians had been restricted to a single opportunity – Radu Dragusin testing Koen Casteels with a header.
Yet, at half-time, Belgium enjoyed just a slender one-goal advantage. Their flying…
Source link : https://www.insideworldfootball.com/2024/06/22/de-bryune-imperious-belgium-dispatch-romania/
Author : Paul Nicholson
Publish date : 2024-06-22 22:13:13
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