Late De Bruyne Strike Seals 4-3 Thriller as Belgium Deny Wales

Late De Bruyne Winner Breaks Welsh Hearts in 4-3 Brussels Thriller

Kevin De Bruyne struck a late winner as Belgium survived a stunning Wales comeback to claim a dramatic 4-3 victory in Brussels, ending Craig Bellamy’s unbeaten run as national team boss and knocking his side off the top of Group J in World Cup qualifying.

Belgium raced into a 3-0 lead within 27 minutes, with Romelu Lukaku, Youri Tielemans, and Jeremy Doku all scoring in a devastating opening spell that left Wales reeling.

But the visitors roared back before half-time, with Harry Wilson converting a penalty to give his side hope. A spirited second-half display then saw Sorba Thomas and Brennan Johnson find the net to level at 3-3.

Just when it looked like Wales had pulled off a historic comeback, De Bruyne capitalised on slack defending at a corner to fire in an 86th-minute winner, his second assist-and-goal involvement of the match.

Bellamy’s Brave Wales Fall Short

Wales came into the clash looking to match their longest-ever unbeaten streak of 10 games and retain top spot in Group J. But despite their fighting spirit, it was Belgium who claimed all three points.

“There’s hurt and anger, but we’ll channel that into September,” said Bellamy, reflecting on the narrow defeat. “We showed what we’re capable of.”

The match marked only the second time Wales had trailed under Bellamy and the first by more than one goal, but their resilience stood out as they dragged themselves back from the brink against a top-10 ranked side.

Match Summary:

• Belgium Goals:

  • Lukaku (PEN, 9’)

  • Tielemans (19’)

  • Doku (27’)

  • De Bruyne (86’)

• Wales Goals:

  • Wilson (PEN, 45+1’)

  • Thomas (61’)

  • Johnson (75’)

Wales now sit second in Group J, behind North Macedonia, who won earlier in the day. The group remains finely poised with both teams meeting again in the autumn.

Next Fixtures:

• Belgium: vs Kazakhstan (away), 6 September

• Wales: vs North Macedonia (home), 6 September