Craig Bellamy’s unbeaten begin to life as Wales’ head coach got here to an finish following a 4-3 defeat in opposition to Belgium on the Stade Roi Baudouin on Monday.
Bellamy was aiming to match the Welsh file of going 10 video games undefeated set beneath Mark Hughes between 2001 and 2003, however fell quick in an important World Cup qualifier.
Kevin De Bruyne struck the decisive blow within the 88th minute, arriving late on the again submit to tuck Youri Tielemans’ ball into the field previous Karl Darlow to seal the three factors.
The end result noticed Wales slip to second in Group J after North Macedonia’s 1-0 win over Kazakhstan, whereas Belgium are actually three factors behind them with two video games in hand.
Belgium got the prospect to take the lead from the spot within the fifteenth minute when De Bruyne’s shot struck the arm of Brennan Johnson contained in the Wales penalty space.
Romelu Lukaku stepped up and despatched Darlow the unsuitable method earlier than Tielemans doubled Belgium’s lead 4 minutes later with a advantageous end into the roof of the online.
The Crimson Devils moved three targets clear simply earlier than the half-hour mark when Jeremy Doku reduce inside from the precise and squeezed a left-footed strike past the palms of Darlow.
26:55 – After 26 minutes and 55 seconds, the @BelRedDevils took their third-fastest 3-0 lead over the previous 15 years, with these two different video games ending in 8-1 (in opposition to Estonia in 2016) and 9-0 (in opposition to Gibraltar in 2017) respectively. Sizzling. pic.twitter.com/ah0DMnXSgE
— OptaJohan (@OptaJohan) June 9, 2025
However Wales had been handed a lifeline in first-half stoppage time when Matz Sels tangled with Chris Mepham contained in the field, with Harry Wilson dispatching the ensuing spot-kick.
And simply six minutes after the restart, the guests received to inside one when Sorba Thomas rounded off a sensational flowing transfer with a cool first-time end from Wilson’s pickout.
Johnson then atoned for his earlier error within the 69th minute to finish the turnaround when he nodded Thomas’ header again into the field previous the stranded Sels.
Lukaku thought he had scored the successful purpose eight minutes from time, however what would have been his ninetieth worldwide purpose was dominated out after the ball had gone out of play.
However there was to be extra late drama as Rudi Garcia’s aspect dusted themselves down and sealed the win late on, with De Bruyne available to settle a seven-goal thriller in Brussels.
Information Debrief: De Bruyne haunts Wales once more
Belgium seemed to be cruising after racing into a cushty lead within the first half. Certainly, after 26 minutes and 55 seconds, they took their third-fastest 3-0 lead over the previous 15 years, with these different two video games ending 8-1 (in opposition to Estonia in 2016) and 9-0 (in opposition to Gibraltar in 2017) respectively.
And it simply needed to be De Bruyne who had his say in opposition to his favorite opposition on the worldwide stage. The midfielder has scored extra targets in opposition to Wales (5) than he has in opposition to every other opponent in his worldwide profession.
Lukaku additionally continued his advantageous scoring type for the Crimson Devils. For the reason that begin of 2023, no participant has netted extra instances than the Napoli striker for a European nation (21).
Belgium are actually unbeaten of their final 42 qualifying matches (EUROs/World Cup) since a 1-0 loss at Wales in June 2015 (W36 D6). Amongst European nations, solely Italy (56 between 2006 and 2017) and England (43 between 2009 and 2019) have had longer unbeaten runs in qualifying.
