Kevin De Bruyne scored the 200th and 201st goals of his career to fire Belgium to a three-nil win over Türkiye in their Matchday 3 UEFA Nations League fixture in Liège.
De Bruyne rolled back the years with a masterful performance as Belgium totally outclassed Turkiye at the Stade Maurice Dufrasne. The win allowed Belgium to keep the pressure on group leaders France and remain hot on their heels.
De Bruyne gave Belgium a perfect start in the 10th minute, rolling Dodi Lukébakio’s pass into the net. He stunningly completed his brace, curling an unstoppable rocket into the net in the second half. Romelu Lukaku came off the bench to put the game beyond doubt in the 76th minute. It was a nostalgic match for Belgium fans as they watched Lukaku and De Bruyne running the show and deciding the match’s outcome, as they did at the peak of their powers.
Turkiye mounted a good fight and were excellent in possession but lacked a finishing touch and were duly punished by a Belgium side in full groove for their woeful finishing.
Welcome to the Kevin De Bruyne Show
The match got off to a dream start for Belgium as Kevin De Bruyne grabbed the opener with barely ten minutes on the clock. De Bruyne caught the Turkiye defence napping and exchanged quick passes with Dodi Lukébakio. He charged goalwards for the return pass before sweeping the ball into the net from the edge of the area to send the home fans into ecstasy. The goal was the 200th of his storied career.
Arda Guler came close to netting an equaliser for Turkiye in the 27th minute after some brilliant work to create space for himself, but Senne Lammens gathered his shot calmly. Lukebakio threatened and came close to doubling Belgium’s lead in the 36th minute, but his shot was tipped onto the upright by Uğurcan Çakır.
Turkey were composed and fluid in possession but lacked a penetrating touch against a rigid Belgian defence. Merih Demiral was presented with Turkiye’s best chance of the opening half in the closing minutes of the half but couldn’t steer his shot towards goal, firing a left-footed shot over the bar from close range. A golden opportunity went begging for the visitors.
Belgium’s Old Guard Settles it
Turkiye was left to rue their missed opportunities as De Bruyne doubled Belgium’s lead just before the hour mark, shortly after Lukebakio had another shot crash against the woodwork. Youri Tielemans won the ball back in midfield and steered it to De Bruyne, who took aim and unleashed a trademark thunderbolt into the top corner about 25 yards from goal. The first goal was beautiful, but this was even more stunning —an absolute worldie and his 40th goal for Belgium.
“I try to lead by example for the younger players, and they follow easily. I feel I can still contribute. I am enjoying myself, and that is the main thing,” said De Bruyne.
It was an unlucky night for Dodi Lukébakio, who was denied by the post twice and was unable to add to his tally. He was substituted in the 61st minute for Romelu Lukaku, who was introduced to a rapturous welcome by the Belgian fans. Lukaku got in on the action 15 minutes after his introduction and put the game beyond doubt in clinical fashion. Charles De Ketelaere evaded his marker brilliantly before teeing a low cross to Lukaku to slam home from close range. The goal was the 94th goal for Belgium’s all-time record scorer as he edges closer to a century.
This was the 86th match in which Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne had featured together for the Red Devils, after they first shared the pitch back in August 2012 in a 4-2 friendly victory over the Netherlands.
The Coaches have their say
Mark van Bommel, Belgium manager:
“I am very pleased with the 3-0 win. We were sloppy in possession now and then and gave the opposition the feeling they could create chances. It went back and forth, and we were not controlled enough in those phases. We kept them in the match for a long time, though I never felt we were in danger of losing.”
Van Bommel gave a glowing tribute to Kevin De Bruyne after his clinical showing
“Kevin De Bruyne always wants to play. Italy, France, today. He is in a really good groove. He is radiating joy, and you can see that in the goals he is scoring.”
Vincenzo Montella, Türkiye manager, rued their missed chances:
“It was a balanced match. At this level, you simply cannot afford to make mistakes. The players are hardly to blame tonight. Games like this happen.”
Man of the match De Bruyne stressed that Van Bommel’s tactics are key to his form, in a statement to VTM
“This is great. I was already feeling good, and now we have put together three good matches as well. This style of football suits me. We have made a good start, and we will try to keep building on this.”
Belgium have been flying under new head coach Mark Van Bommel, with two wins and a loss across three matches. Their only loss came to Zinedine Zidane’s France, courtesy of a magical solo goal from Michael Olise. They trail France by a point, who couldn’t secure maximum points against Italy and had to settle for a draw. They’ll go head-to-head against France at the Stade de France on Monday in a battle for the top spot in the final game of this international window.
Turkiye’s woes have worsened, and they sit at the bottom of the group with 0 wins across three matches. They started their Nations League campaign with a 1-0 defeat to France before suffering a 4-1 loss against Italy.
