Star-studded Belgium beat Wales 3-1 in WC qualifier: Records broken
What's the story
After going down 1-0 early on against Wales in their World Cup qualifying clash, world number one side Belgium produced a stellar display to win 3-1. With this win, Belgium collected three crucial points in Group E. Thorgan Hazard had a terrific game for Belgium, scoring one and assisting another. Belgium maintained their supreme form at home. Here are the details.
Match
Belgium get the job done against Wales
Wales took an early lead with their first attack as Connor Roberts and Gareth Bale combined for Harry Wilson to finish the move. Belgium responded as Kevin De Bruyne lashed in an equalizer before Thorgan Hazard headed them in front. Wales posed more of a threat in the second half, however, Romelu Lukaku's penalty settled the game.
Belgium
Belgium have been devastating of late
Belgium are unbeaten in competitive home matches since 2010. Notably, they had failed to beat Wales in their four previous encounters, the most recent being a 3-1 quarter-final win at the Euro 2016. As per BBC, since then, Belgium have scored 153 goals in 51 games under Roberto Martinez and not lost a single qualifier.
KDB
Kevin De Bruyne registers these records
As per Opta, Kevin De Bruyne has been directly involved in 14 goals across his last eight appearances for Belgium (5 goals, 9 assists), scoring in consecutive matches for his country for the first time since May 2016. He is the first player to score a competitive away goal against Wales since Juraj Kucka for Slovakia in October 2019 in a EURO 2020 qualifier.
Do you know?
Individual numbers for Lukaku and KDB
Romelu Lukaku netted his 58th international goal for Belgium in what was his 90th appearance. He has now scored for Belgium in six successive seasons. Meanwhile, De Bruyne scored his 21st goal for Belgium.
Twitter Post
Belgium open their tally with convincing win
🇨🇿🇧🇪 A strong start for free-scoring Czech Republic and comeback kings Belgium 🔥#WCQ | #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/jvJdh7GOaP
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) March 24, 2021