Belgium versus Romania LIVE: Belgium take early lead in Cologne

EARLY AND LATE GOALS GIVE BELGIUM CRUCIAL WIN

Belgium finally asserted their credentials at Euro 2024 with a 2-0 victory over Romania in an open match in Cologne.

Kevin De Bruyne sealed the match for the Red Devils with a poached goal ten minutes from time, in a match in which Belgium missed a host of chances.

For the third time in the tournament Romelu Lukaku had a goal disallowed, and he and his teammates saw several other chances saved by Florin Nita. De Bruyne and substitute Leandro Trossard were also wasteful in playing decisive passes to open players. Dennis Man had Romania’s best chance in the second half, which was smothered by Koen Casteels.

It was Youri Tielemans that gave Belgium the lead after just 75 seconds, when he walked onto a lay-off by Lukaku to crash a low drive past Florin Nita. The goal was the third quickest 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.