De Bruyne strike helps Belgium bounce back
When the Welsh attack cruised through the Belgian defence, ripping them apart with ruthless precision, the hosts must have wondered whether it was somehow happening again. The scars of 2016 have not yet faded in Belgium, who were so famously defeated in the European Championship by a band of plucky Welshmen, and those old scabs would surely have itched in the moments after conceding last night.
In this first meeting between the two sides since that clash in Lille, it looked for a brief while as if Wales might be prepared to unleash another surprise on the world’s best international team. Their early strike, finished by Harry Wilson, was a team goal of the highest order, underlining the quality that exists in this Welsh attack.
Lightning was not to strike twice, though. Wilson’s goal was the best it got on the night for Wales, with Belgium ultimately demonstrating their superiority in this World Cup qualifier. Kevin De Bruyne, Thorgan Hazard and Romelu Lukaku were in no mood to allow Wales to inflict another humiliation, each scoring as Roberto Martinez’s side earned a deserved victory in Leuven.
The result, and the generally onesided nature of the match, will not have come as a surprise to caretaker manager Rob Page or to the absent Ryan Giggs, watching from home. “Let’s not be too harsh on ourselves,” said Gareth Bale. “We know they are a great team.”
The brilliance of their goal, though, will be a source of hope going forward. It was proof of what Wales can do to teams, even those as illustrious as Belgium, and further evidence of how central Bale will be to their hopes in the Euros.
It started on the right flank. Wilson slid the ball into Bale, who turned it into the path of Connor Roberts. From there it came back to Bale, slicing through three Belgian shirts like a surgeon’s knife, before the Tottenham Hotspur forward rolled it into the path of Wilson to score with his first touch. It was ice hockey on grass, each pass delivered with speed and accuracy, and it would have looked rather familiar to De Bruyne in the Belgium midfield. The Manchester City midfielder plays this sort of football on a weekly basis, yet here he could only watch helplessly as the Wales machine whirred into action.
“We knew we could hurt them,” said Page. “We have pace and quality, and we have goals in the team. The goal we scored was fantastic and there were a lot of positives.”
Unfortunately for the visitors, the goal came in the 10th minute rather than the 90th. There was plenty of time for Belgium to find their rhythm and to pin back the Wales defence. An early injury to Joe Allen did not make life any easier for Page’s side, who were already missing Aaron Ramsey and Ben Davies, and it was not long before De Bruyne smashed home an equaliser from range.
The second came just a few minutes later. The patchy pitch in Leuven helped their cause, with Roberts slipping at the back post just as he was preparing to clear Thomas Meunier’s cross. Hazard, brother of Eden, could hardly miss with his close-range header. “The pitch was not great, to be honest,” said Roberts. “I’m not sure why we played on such a bad pitch.”
Wales were more adventurous after the break but Lukaku soon put the game beyond their reach from the penalty spot after Chris Mepham swung clumsily at a loose ball, bringing down Dries Mertens. It confirmed an expected defeat for Wales, who took no joy from the scoreline but plenty of encouragement from their glorious goal.
Belgium (3-4-2-1) Courtois 6 (Real Madrid); Alderweireld 6 (Tottenham), Vermaelen 6 (Vissel Kobe, Denayer (Lyon) 45), Vertonghen 6 (Benfica); Meunier 7 (Borussia Dortmund), Tielemans 7 (Leicester City), Dendoncker 6 (Wolves), Hazard 7 (Borussia Dortmund, Castagne (Leicester City) 84); De Bruyne 8 (Manchester City), Mertens 6 (Napoli, Trossard (Brighton) 90+3); Lukaku 7 (Inter Milan). Booked Hazard.
Wales (3-4-3) Ward 6 (Leicester City); Mepham 5 (Bournemouth), Rodon 6 (Tottenham), J Lawrence 6 (St Pauli); C Roberts 6 (Swansea), Allen 6 (Stoke City, Morrell (Luton Town) 8) Ampadu 6 (Sheffield United), N Williams 6 (Liverpool); Bale 7 (Tottenham, Moore (Cardiff City) 84), Wilson 7 (Cardiff City, Roberts (Leeds United) 67), James 6 (Manchester United).
Referee Cuneyt Cakir (Turkey).