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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The 28-year-old made a couple of decent saves and did very little wrong over the 90 minutes. Naturally, Caoimhín Kelleher will remain Ireland's first-choice goalkeeper following his €21 million move to Brentford. But O'Leary, who played every minute of action for Bristol City in the Championship this season, is a fine alternative. The Bath-born stopper, who qualifies through a Kerry-born grandfather, proved he has the ability and temperament to step up if required. The losers Evan Ferguson Appropriately enough, a largely forgettable season for Evan Ferguson ended in disappointingly tame fashion. The Brighton striker struggled to have much impact, even when starting against a side 31 places below Ireland in the Fifa rankings. He did not fare much better against Senegal, although by the time the Meath native was introduced in the 58th minute of that game, the momentum had swung firmly in the visitors' favour, so it was a difficult situation to be thrust into. 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