The Belgians take three points! After one minute and a quarter, Tielemans decides the game and Group E is in a tangle

At 9pm, the last match of the second round of the Euros in Germany was played. Belgium and Romania clashed. Belgium was the only team in Group E without three points. However, that changed after today as the Belgians decided the match with a goal in the second minute.

A quick Belgian goal decided the first half

Belgium took the lead very quickly. After 77 seconds, Romelu Lukaku got to the ball in the whitewash, held it perfectly, passed it to Youri Tielemans, who shot through a pile of bodies in front of him in the fall to score his eighth career national team goal.

But Romania quickly responded. Radu Dragusin pounced on a high centre, but his header was brilliantly pulled back by goalkeeper Casteels. But the Romanians did not create any more chances from the ensuing corner.

In the 19th minute, ex-Spartan goalkeeper Florin Nita made a great save, parrying a quick shot by Dodi Lukebakio. He was subsequently shown a yellow card in the 35th minute for an indiscriminate tackle on Dragus. Both teams then had chances from standard situations, but neither was able to score and the teams went to the booths with a 1:0 scoreline.

Romania couldn’t find an equaliser and a penalty was awarded

Moments after the start of the second half, Dennis Man tested Casteels with a shot from distance, but Casteels was alert and caught the shot in the basket. Then Valentin Mihaila escaped the Belgian defence, but his shot missed the net by a wide margin. Kevin De Bruyne then fired two shots, neither of which were successful.

In the 63rd minute, De Bruyne sent an incredible pass between the defenders, who found Lukaku and, alone in front of Nita, sent the ball unstoppably towards the left post. But VAR eventually called the goal off due to a very close offside. Lukaku thus celebrated for the third time a goal that was eventually called back by the referees.

Romanian Man had another huge chance when he found himself alone in front of the goal after a bad pass from one of the Belgium defenders. But his shot was parried by Casteels and he kept his clean sheet.

Ten minutes from the end, captain De Bruyne found himself alone in front of Nita after an extended goalkeeper’s kick. He got the ball behind him. The goal was reviewed for a while due to a suspected offside, but this was not confirmed and Belgium added insurance in the form of a second goal.

A few minutes later, Castagne saved the day when Romanian substitute Alibec beat Casteels. However, the ball was slow to progress into the box and the Belgian defender managed to kick it away. The Romanians failed to make a quick reduction. There was no more action and Belgium deservedly won.

Source: UEFA, EURO 2024