Kevin De Bruyne stars as Belgium beat Romania for their first Euro 2024 win

Belgium asserted their title-credentials at Euro 2024 with a 2-0 victory over Romania. Kevin De Bruyne sealed the match for the Red Devils with a poached goal 10 minutes from time, in a match in which Belgium missed a host of chances.

Romelu Lukaku had a goal disallowed for the third time in the tournament, and he and his teammates saw several other chances saved by Florin Nita.

Kevin De Bruyne and substitute Leandro Trossard were also wasteful in playing passes to open players. Romania’s Dennis Man had his best chance in the second half, which was smothered by Koen Casteels.

Belgium took the lead just 75 seconds into the match when Youri Tielemans walked onto a lay-off by Lukaku to crash a low drive past Nita, marking the third quickest goal in the history of the European Championship. The result means that all four teams in Group E now have three points, with the remaining fixtures to be played on Wednesday.

For such a venerated group of players, Belgium’s record at international tournaments in the last decade has been poor, with one third-placed finish at the World Cup being their only notable achievement. After the shock of a defeat to Slovakia in their opening match, it looked like they might depart the international stage early once more. However, in Cologne, they fired back with a vibrant performance in one of the most entertaining matches of the tournament.

This win provides Belgium with a foothold at Euro 2024 and perhaps a base camp for one final push for a major trophy for their aging stars. Jan Vertonghen slotted into defense effortlessly, while De Bruyne delivered the kind of performance seen regularly at Manchester City. If their record scorer Romelu Lukaku can stay just the right side of the offside line and turn his personal fortunes around, they can still be a handful.

Kevin De Bruyne was the standout player, running the Belgian midfield and dictating the tempo of the game all night. His goal, a toe-poked, first-time finish after a flick-on from a long ball, capped a fine performance.