De Bruyne crowns Belgium’s 2-0 win over Romania at Euro

Cologne: In front of Belgium’s royal family, King Kev sealed the win.

Belgium shook off the shock of losing to Slovakia in its opening game of the European Championship by beating Romania 2-0 on Saturday.

Kevin De Bruyne’s second-half goal completed the win after Youri Tielemans scored in the second minute at Cologne Stadium.

Watching on were Belgium’s King Philippe and Queen Mathilde. “We knew what we needed to do. We needed to win otherwise we were going home,” De Bruyne said. “I will do everything I can to keep the lads on track.” This was just what Belgium needed after the Slovakia stunner, which raised the prospect of another early exit from a major tournament after being eliminated at the group stage of the 2022 World Cup. Tielemans gave the No. 3-ranked team in the world a flying start with a goal from the edge of the area. De Bruyne converted direct from Belgium goalkeeper Koen Casteels’ long kick in the 80th.

The result means all four teams in Group E have three points and there is all to play for in the final round of games on Wednesday, when Belgium plays Ukraine and Romania takes on Slovakia.