De Bruyne shines as Belgium defeats Romania 2-0 in Euro Cup 2024

Cologne: In front of Belgium's royal family, King Kev clinched the victory.

Belgium defeated Romania 2-0 on Saturday, bouncing back from a loss to Slovakia in its opening European Championship encounter.

Kevin De Bruyne's second-half goal sealed the victory after Youri Tielemans scored in the second minute at Cologne Stadium.

Watching on were Belgium’s King Philippe and Queen Mathilde.

“We knew what we needed to do. We needed to win otherwise we were going home," De Bruyne said. “I will do everything I can to keep the lads on track.”

This was exactly what Belgium needed following Slovakia's stunning performance, which raised the prospect of another early departure from a major tournament after being ousted in the group stage of the 2022 World Cup.

Tielemans handed the world's third-ranked team an early lead with a goal from the perimeter of the box. De Bruyne converted directly from Belgium goalkeeper Koen Casteels' long kick in the 80th minute.

The result means that all four teams in Group E have three points, and there is still a lot to play for in the last round of games on Wednesday, when Belgium faces Ukraine and Romania plays Slovakia.

“I'm very relieved we won the game. It was very important to get the three points,” Belgium coach Domenico Tedesco said.

While Belgium prevailed, Romelu Lukaku was left frustrated after having a third goal ruled off by VAR at the Euros.

Still, he was at the heart of his team's strong start, laying the ball off for Tielemans to drive low from the edge of the box.

Belgium has previously been criticised for failing to meet expectations, and its initial setback would have harmed the squad's confidence heading into Saturday's encounter.

Tielemans' goal seemed to alleviate the strain, as Belgium dominated the remainder of the half, with 67% possession.

Lukaku thought he scored after the break, but VAR said he strayed offside before firing past Romanian keeper Florin Nita.

The longer the game went on without Belgium scoring a second, the more tension rose.

Dennis Man may have tied the game when he ran through on goal but was denied by Casteels.

The keeper then turned provider with a long kick upfield, which De Bruyne sprinted onto and scored.

Tedesco believes his squad waited too long to get the victory.

“Scoring four or five goals tonight was possible,” he said. “It is important to create chances, but you have to kill the game earlier for sure.”

Portugal qualified for the knockout phase under former Belgium coach Roberto Martinez after defeating Turkey 3-0 in Group F. Georgia earned its first point in a major tournament by drawing 1-1 with the Czech Republic and remains hopeful of advancing. AP