FIFA World Cup Qualifying - UEFA

Wales vs Belgium 2026 World Cup Qualifying - UEFA, Group Stage

Wales
  • 8': Joe Rodon
  • 89': Nathan Broadhead
FT
2 - 4
Belgium
  • 18': Kevin De Bruyne (P)
  • 24': Thomas Meunier
  • 76': Kevin De Bruyne (P)
  • 90': Leandro Trossard

De Bruyne leads Belgium past Wales to top qualifying group

Wales' hopes of automatic World Cup qualification were dealt a blow as Kevin De Bruyne converted two penalties in Belgium's 4-2 win in Cardiff.

Match Commentary

  • 0': First Half begins.
  • 8': Goal! Wales 1, Belgium 0. Joe Rodon (Wales) header from very close range to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Sorba Thomas with a cross following a corner.
  • 13': Harry Wilson (Wales) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
  • 18': Goal! Wales 1, Belgium 1. Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom left corner.
  • 24': Goal! Wales 1, Belgium 2. Thomas Meunier (Belgium) right footed shot from the right side of the box to the top right corner. Assisted by Jérémy Doku.
  • 45'+3': First Half ends, Wales 1, Belgium 2.
  • 45': Second Half begins Wales 1, Belgium 2.
  • 51': Ben Davies (Wales) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
  • 58': Substitution, Wales. Brennan Johnson replaces David Brooks.
  • 60': Substitution, Belgium. Timothy Castagne replaces Maxim De Cuyper.
  • 64': Thomas Meunier (Belgium) is shown the yellow card.
  • 70': Substitution, Belgium. Hans Vanaken replaces Amadou Onana.
  • 71': Substitution, Wales. Nathan Broadhead replaces Ben Davies because of an injury.
  • 76': Goal! Wales 1, Belgium 3. Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom right corner.
  • 81': Substitution, Belgium. Malick Fofana replaces Charles De Ketelaere.
  • 81': Substitution, Belgium. Axel Witsel replaces Kevin De Bruyne.
  • 81': Substitution, Belgium. Brandon Mechele replaces Arthur Theate because of an injury.
  • 86': Substitution, Wales. Kieffer Moore replaces Jordan James.
  • 86': Substitution, Wales. Jay Dasilva replaces Mark Harris.
  • 89': Goal! Wales 2, Belgium 3. Nathan Broadhead (Wales) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Kieffer Moore.
  • 90': Goal! Wales 2, Belgium 4. Leandro Trossard (Belgium) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Timothy Castagne.
  • 90'+9': Second Half ends, Wales 2, Belgium 4.

Game Information

Competition: FIFA World Cup Qualifying - UEFA

Venue: Cardiff City Stadium
Location: Cardiff, Wales
Attendance: 32,803

FIFA World Cup Qualifying - UEFA Standings

POS TEAM GP GD PTS
+22 Belgium 8 18 0
+10 Wales 8 16 2
+3 North Macedonia 8 13 1
-4 Kazakhstan 8 8 4
Full Table

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/countries/500/bel.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originBEL WALhttps://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/countries/500/wal.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=origin
6 Fouls 10
1 Yellow Cards 2
0 Red Cards 0
1 Offsides 0
5 Corner Kicks 7
1 Saves 2
38.2 Possession 61.8
16 SHOTS 9
6 ON GOAL 3
0.4 On Target % 0.3
2 Penalty Goals 0
2 Penalty Kicks Taken 0
242 Accurate Passes 412
313 Passes 491
0.8 Pass Completion % 0.8
3 Accurate Crosses 8
9 Crosses 26
0.3 Cross % 0.3
58 Long Balls 41
27 Accurate Long Balls 10
0.5 Long Balls % 0.2
4 Blocked Shots 3
9 Effective Tackles 13
12 Tackles 18
0.8 Tackle % 0.7
5 Interceptions 4
35 Effective Clearances 18
35 Clearances 18

Line-Ups

WAL Wales (4-2-3-1)

No. Name
1 Karl Darlow (GK)
16 Ben Cabango
6 Joe Rodon
4 Ben Davies Yellow Card
3 Neco Williams
8 Harry Wilson Yellow Card
17 Jordan James
5 Ethan Ampadu
18 Mark Harris
19 Sorba Thomas
7 David Brooks
Substitutes:
Ronan Kpakio, Tom King, Liam Cullen, Brennan Johnson, Chris Mepham, Nathan Broadhead, Rubin Colwill, Jay Da Silva, Lewis Koumas, Adam Rhys Davies, Josh Sheehan, Kieffer Moore.

BEL Belgium (4-2-3-1)

No. Name
1 Thibaut Courtois (GK)
3 Arthur Theate
2 Zeno Debast
5 Maxim De Cuyper
15 Thomas Meunier
7 Kevin De Bruyne
8 Nicolas Raskin
18 Amadou Onana
17 Charles De Ketelaere
10 Leandro Trossard
11 Jérémy Doku
Substitutes:
Malick Fofana, Matz Sels, Timothy Castagne, Michy Batshuayi, Dodi Lukebakio, Brandon Mechele, Koni De Winter, Senne Lammens, Loïs Openda, Hans Vanaken, Axel Witsel, Joaquin Seys.

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