Belgium Beats Romania 2-0 In Euro 2024: Tielemans And De Bruyne Lead To Victory

Belgium rebounded from their opening defeat at Euro 2024 with a vital 2-0 victory over Romania. Goals from Youri Tielemans and Kevin De Bruyne helped them get off the mark in Group E. After their unexpected 1-0 loss to Slovakia on matchday one, Domenico Tedesco's squad knew another defeat would jeopardise their chances of securing a top-two finish.

The team came out strong and needed just 73 seconds to score, with Tielemans firing home from the edge of the area following Romelu Lukaku's hold-up play. This marked Belgium's fastest goal ever at a major tournament. Despite continuous pressing throughout the first half, they couldn't find a second goal. Lukaku came close but saw his shot blocked by Nicusor Bancu.

Shortly after the break, De Bruyne narrowly missed the far corner with a curling effort. He then appeared to have assisted Belgium's second goal when he released Lukaku, who finished into the bottom-left corner. However, the striker was ruled offside following a VAR check.

Koen Casteels made a crucial stop from Dennis Man to keep Belgium's lead intact. They capitalised on this reprieve with 11 minutes left to play, as De Bruyne latched onto Lukaku's flick-on before scoring past Florin Nita in a one-on-one situation. Despite late chances for Lukaku and Leandro Trossard, Belgium failed to add a third goal.

This win sets up an intriguing finale in Group E, with all four teams on three points ahead of Wednesday's final set of games.

Oh, Kevin De Bruyne... #EURO2024 | #BELROU pic.twitter.com/HX9yNdxnwd

— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) June 22, 2024

Despite Belgium's victory on Saturday, Romelu Lukaku continued to face challenges up front. His disallowed goal in the second half marked the third strike he has seen chalked off at Euro 2024. This is more than any other player has experienced in this tournament.

Excluding those disallowed goals, Lukaku has now failed to score from eight shots worth a total of 1.27 expected goals (xG) at this tournament. He will be hoping for better luck in next Wednesday's decisive match against Ukraine.