Euro Result: Belgium 2-0 Romania

Youri Tielemans and Kevin De Bruyne’s goals in either half ensure that, heading into the UEFA EURO 2024 Group E finals, everything is up for grabs.

If the theme of their first defeat to Slovakia was one of wasted opportunities, Belgium changed that story dramatically in Cologne, scoring twice in the first two minutes. Romelu Lukaku had a wild start to the match as the ball broke for him. Jérémy Doku then squared the ball for Tielemans, who rifled low and hard past Florin Niță to score the third-fastest goal in EURO history at 73 seconds.

Romania retaliated immediately, with Radu Drăgușin scaling the highest point to compel Koen Casteels to make a superb save. As Lukaku turned and watched his shot ricochet wide, Doku and Lukaku continued to cooperate. After a characteristic driving move by De Bruyne, Dodi Lukébakio had an opportunity to test Niță. The goalkeeper made a full stretch save before Doku was able to brush away another effort.

The guys led by Edward Iordănescu did not back down. They played well in the second half, came out strong after the interval, and came dangerously close to winning when Valentin Mihăilă broke free only to miss. De Bruyne came close twice and was steadily gaining ground by frequently connecting with Lukaku. Dennis Man sneaked in behind and Casteels saved Belgium’s blushes by denying him.

After making a fantastic save, the goalkeeper changed roles and cleared the ball long. De Bruyne anticipated a tiny flick-on and extended to guide in the second goal. Romania persisted in pushing, but Belgium managed to see out the last seconds to launch their effort.

Important statistics

This marked the inaugural encounter between Belgium and Romania at a significant international championship.
It is currently five wins out of the last six EURO group matches for Belgium.
Belgium’s sole loss in their past 17 games (W11 D5) came against Slovakia on Matchday 1.
In just two of their previous 24 EURO games and none of their previous 19, Belgium has drawn.
For the first time, Romania was unable to win back-to-back EURO games.