Kevin De Bruyne smashed in an 88th-minute winner as Belgium scraped past Wales 4‑3 in a wild World Cup qualifier, bringing them back from a 3‑0 halftime deficit. According to Reuters, Belgium looked dominant with early goals from Romelu, Youri Tielemans, and Jeremy Doku. But Wales roared back via Harry Wilson’s spot-kick, Sorba Thomas, and Brennan Johnson and nearly snatched a draw.
De Bruyne calmly volleyed Tielemans cross into the net denying any chance to Wales’ manager Craig Bellamy. This adds a stop to his unbeaten record 10-match run giving Belgium three crucial points in Group J.
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[REPORT] Belgium Start Strong, but Wales Fight Back
Belgium looked in complete control in the first half. Within 30 minutes, they were already 3-0. Romelu Lukaku got things going with a confident penalty, bringing his international goal tally to 89.
Shortly after, Youri Tielemans finished off a smooth team move with a clean strike from Maxime De Cuyper’s cross. Jeremy Doku then dazzled with a brilliant solo goal that left Wales’ defense chasing shadows.
At that point, it looked like Belgium might cruise to an easy win. But football is never that simple.
Just before halftime, a controversial penalty gave Wales a lifeline.
Goalkeeper Matz Sels was judged to have fouled Chris Mepham, and Harry Wilson calmly slotted the spot-kick. That goal seemed to wake up the Welsh side.
In the second half, they looked much more dangerous. Wilson assisted Sorba Thomas for Wales’ second goal just six minutes, and Brennan Johnson completed the comeback with a header in the 69th minute.
From 3-0 down to 3-3 — Wales had turned the game on its head.
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Belgium was suddenly under pressure. They had gone from dominant to desperate, and the crowd could feel the tension.
Lukaku thought he had restored the lead, but his second goal was ruled out after a long VAR review showed the ball had gone out of play in the build-up.
Then, with just two minutes left in regular time, Belgium found their hero. Tielemans floated a beautiful cross to the far post, where Kevin De Bruyne was waiting unmarked.
Without making a mistake the Manchester City star volleyed the ball into the net, igniting loud celebration. It was a typical De Bruyne moment — calm, clinical, and crucial.
What’s Next for Both Teams?
This was a huge win for Belgium, especially after drawing their first match against North Macedonia. With two games in hand and three points from this victory, they are still very much in the race to top Group J.
For Wales, it was a painful loss but not a hopeless one. This was Craig Bellamy’s first defeat as manager, and it came after nine unbeaten games.
Still, there were plenty of positives. Coming back from 3-0 down against one of Europe’s top teams shows the fight and belief in this squad.
North Macedonia is only one point ahead of Wales, who remain in second place in the group.
Every game counts because only the group winner advances automatically, but second place earns a play-off spot.
Social Media Reactions
After Belgium’s thrilling 4-3 victory over Wales, the football community was in a frenzy.
Fans on Reddit expressed their astonishment at the game’s intensity, with one user commenting, “What a game!” and another noting, “That is abysmal defending holy f***.”
Sky Sports Football shared a post highlighting Kevin De Bruyne’s match-winning goal, captioned, “What a game! ..”
Amit Mishra’s Take
Football can be surprising, and this game showed that to us. Although Belgium’s early domination suggested they would win easily, Wales’ valiant comeback showed that no football advantage is ever safe.
Nonetheless, Kevin De Bruyne’s late goal was a display of absolute perfection, it also brought to light some of Belgium’s defensive problems that will need to be fixed going ahead.
In contrast, Wales played a solid second half, and although they lost, their commitment is something to be proud of moving forward.
Both teams can take a lot of lessons from this match, which will surely go down as one of the most memorable World Cup qualifying meetings.
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