Belgium 4 Wales 3: De Bruyne breaks Welsh hearts after thrilling three-goal comeback and controversial VAR farce
KEVIN DE BRUYNE broke Wales hearts on a night of World Cup qualifying chaos in Belgium.
The
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Kevin De Bruyne grabbed Belgium's winner against Wales
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But where do you start to sum up this seven-goal thriller - which included an epic three-goal comeback by Wales - which was dominated by several poor refereeing decisions and lengthy VAR checks?
There were two first-half penalties awarded by referee Irfan Peljto - one for each side and both looked harsh.
Then Romelu Lukaku had an 80th-minute goal ruled out following a five-minute VAR check - during which both managers were booked - because the ball went out of play in the build-up.
On a night of mayhem in Brussels, the Dragons fell 3-0 down inside 27 minutes through goals by Lukaku from the penalty spot, Youri Tielemans and Jeremy Doku as the hosts ran riot in the first half.
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Spirited
Yet De Bruyne had the final say with a classy finish when the star midfielder was left unmarked at the back post.
It left the visitors floored as
Wales now trail North Macedonia by a point in Group J in their quest to reach the finals in USA, Mexico and Canada next summer with the Belgians only three points behind with two games in hand.
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To compound Bellamy's frustrations, the 45-year-old, who spent two years at Anderlecht, is due to return to Belgium for a friend's wedding later this week.
Pre-match, Bellamy had hailed his first 12 months in the Wales job as the "best year" of his life.
World Cup winner and one-club legend rolls back the years with stunning goal from halfway line
But, after Spurs legend Jan Vertonghen received a heartfelt farewell from the Belgian public, Bellamy's Dragons were left furious by the award of Lukaku's 15th-minute penalty.
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De Bruyne's shot hit the arm of Brennan Johnson from a short distance but Bosnian ref Peljto pointed to the spot.
A lengthy VAR check did not overturn what looked to be a harsh decision and Napoli striker Lukaku slotted home his 89th international goal.
Wales were rocked and failed to recover as
Tielemans doubled the hosts' lead on 19 minutes when the Aston Villa midfielder, captain for the night, hit the top corner with a side-footed finish.
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It was a slick team move from Rudi Garcia's men with De Bruyne, Leandro Trossard and Maxim de Cuyper involved before Tielemans was left unmarked to beat Karl Darlow.
Wales almost halved the deficit instantly but David Brooks missed a glorious chance before Ben Davies forced Nottingham Forest keeper Matz Sels into a scrambling save.
De Bruyne rolled an effort past the post but Manchester City wideman Doku made no mistake when he cut in on his left foot and fired past Darlow despite the Leeds stopper getting a hand to his shot.
Wales, who had never won on Belgian soil, were handed a lifeline on the stroke of half-time when Sels was deemed to foul Chris Mepham when he clattered into the defender trying to punch a high ball away.
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It appeared another harsh call by ref Peljto and Wilson scored from the spot by sending Sels the wrong way for his 14th Dragons goal.
Trossard and Lukaku wasted chances to put the game to bed and Wales netted a second on 51 minutes when Wilson set up Thomas to slot home.
Wales were in dreamland when Johnson headed home from Thomas' centre before De Bruyne scored his 31st Belgium goal in his final act before he was substituted to crush Bellamy and Co.
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Youri Tielemans helped Belgium march into a commanding lead
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Wales got a penalty on the stroke of half-time
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Harry Wilson converted his spot kick to give Wales a lifeline
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Sorba Thomas rolled in Wales' second to cut the deficit to one
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Brennan Johnson headed in a dramatic equaliser
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Romelu Lukaku thought he had restored Belgium's advantage
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Wales immediatel appealed to the ref as VAR took five minutes to rule it out
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Wales did their trademark silly team photo before kick-off
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Lukaku scored from the penalty spot to get things going
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Craig Bellamy and the Welsh team were left heartbroken
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The 42
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One man was conspicuous by his absence in Ireland's dour stalemate
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The 42
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The 42
6 hours ago
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Heimir Hallgrimsson decided to reward the oft-travelling, rarely-seen Max O'Leary with a first Irish start, giving Caoimhín Kelleher a break. Jake O'Brien replaced Matt Doherty at right-back with Killian Phillips making his full senior debut in midfield, with Ryan Manning benched. Evan Ferguson – whose sharpness in training had impressed his manager – earned a start having come close to doing so on Friday, while Troy Parrott returned to lead the line. Ireland's shape was that to which we have become accustomed: a 4-4-2 without the ball that morphed into a fancier, 3-4-2-1 with the ball. Phillips dropped into deep midfield alongside Jason Knight with Will Smallbone freed up to play further forward. Among Ireland's first-half problems: their evolving formation got stuck in its larval, two-banks-of-four phase, such was Luxembourg's dominance of the ball. O'Leary was sharp to dive to his left to push Danel Sinani's long-range shot around the post, a move whose genesis was a clumsy lay-off by Ferguson to Phillips. Advertisement Hallgrimsson, growing increasingly frustrated, swapped Phillips and Smallbone's positions. That move was tantamount to tinkering around a crash site. Ireland's passing was awful, with players remonstrating with one another as moves continually broke down. An ugly problem from Ireland's last few years also reared its head, with Knight, Phillips and Smallbone looking rushed and uncomfortable when they were pressed in midfield by their opposite number. Troy Parrott contributed Ireland's best moment from open play shortly before half-time, when he controlled the ball and spun away from his aggressive marker, Eldin Džogović, who responded by kicking him in the calf. It was a rare moment of conviction from any Irish player. Smallbone floated the resultant free-kick to Dara O'Shea at the back post, whose square header was met by Nathan Collins, who stooped and headed the ball against the post. Ireland mercifully improved after half-time. Kasey McAteer hinted at the severity of the half-time message by quickly closing down and opponent to rob possession and then pull a left-footed shot wide of the far post. McAteer should have remained so single-minded a few minutes later, but rather than go for goal himself, he instead directed a free header from Ryan Manning's terrific deep cross back across goal for Parrott, who handled the ball amid a miscued effort to try and force the ball over the line. Jack Taylor and Festy Ebosele were sprung from the bench within 10 minutes of the restart and both combined for another chance, only for Taylor to pull a shot wide having been smartly picked out by Ebosele on the edge of the box. Ireland finally managed an effort on target shortly after, as Parrott ran in behind to collect McAteer's pass before lifting the ball delightfully over the onrushing goalkeeper. Parrott, alas, was too eager in making his run and had strayed offside. McAteer, now shifted to an inside-left role as opposed to standing out on the right wing, grew far more influential, but was also guilty of over-enthusiasm in taking an over-the-shoulder volley too early having been picked out by a ball over the top. His shot was tame and easy for Luxembourg's teenage goalkeeper. But alas as many of the Irish players improved around him, Evan Ferguson visibly waned; his lack of match minutes across the season becoming painfully evident. He was caught too often on his heels, most gallingly when Dara O'Shea played a risky pass through midfield that was intended for Ferguson, but intercepted by the much more alert Tomas Moreira, whom Ferguson pursued and then fouled. He was booked, and eventually withdrawn for Adam Idah with 15 minutes remaining. Taylor came agonisingly close to winning the game as the clock ticked out. First Parrott wriggled brilliantly along the endline to pull the ball back for Idah, whose heavy touch ended with the ball running out to Taylor on the edge of the box, who smashed a shot off the underside of the crossbar John Patrick came off the bench for a late senior debut, and showed some very neat touches, most obviously on the edge of his own box after Matt Doherty recovered brilliantly to snuff out a late Luxembourg counter. The Spanish-born midfielder will be among a handful of people on earth to remember this game. While Ireland will have to be vastly improved in September, the context of this game is enough to avoid ringing any alarm bells. Already without the bulk of their Championship contingent, the squad were carrying an accumulated fatigue that will not exist in three months' time. This season, after all, has been long and, er, taxing. Luxembourg: Tiago Pereira; Eldin Džogović, Laurent Jans (Michael Pinto, 62′), Seid Korac, Dirk Carlson; Leandro Barreiro, Tomas Moreira, Danel Sinani; Florian Bohnert (Vincent Thill, 62′) , Gerson Rodrigues (Eric Veiga, 82′), Aiman Dardari (Alessio Curci, 76′) Republic of Ireland: Max O'Leary; Jake O'Brien, Nathan Collins (captain), Dara O'Shea, Robbie Brady (Ryan Manning, 20′); Kasey McAteer (Matt Doherty, 75′), Jason Knight (John Patrick,90′), Will Smallbone (Jack Taylor, 55′), Killian Phillips (Festy Ebosele, 55′); Evan Ferguson (Adam Idah, 75′), Troy Parrott Referee: Stefan Ebner (Austria)
