Soccer Football - European Qualifiers - Group J - Belgium v Wales - King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium - June 9, 2025 Belgium coach Rudi Garcia reacts REUTERS/Yves Herman
BRUSSELS (Reuters) -There was relief for Belgium after scraping through a dramatic World Cup qualifier against Wales on Monday but plenty for coach Rudi Garcia to ponder after a narrow 4-3 home win.
Belgium had been cruising at 3-0 up inside the first half-hour of the Group J match at the King Baudouin Stadium but Wales fought back to 3-3 with 20 minutes left before Kevin De Bruyne grabbed the winner two minutes from time.
“The most important thing is that we won. Psychologically it is tough to give away a three-goal lead, but we showed our mental strength,” said Garcia after Belgium's second game in their qualifying group for the 2026 finals in North America.
“We kept fighting. It is symbolic that Kevin of all people scored the winning goal."
De Bruyne had been a key factor throughout, ghosting in at the back post to convert Youri Tielemans’ cross for the winner.
Tielemans, who was captain for the night, said relief was the primary emotion after the game.
"We are happy with the victory, but we know that should not have happened to us," he said of the Welsh comeback.
"I have no explanation for how that happened. But the craziest things can happen with the national team.
"We felt we could finish the match earlier, but then we dropped off a bit. Then we conceded a goal and their confidence grew. They were simply the better team at that moment.
“We had to defend together as a team, choose the right moment to react and get back into the match but we didn't do that well."
Belgium conceded a late equaliser in their group opener against North Macedonia on Friday and the defence will come under more scrutiny after allowing Wales to score three.
Belgium travel to Liechtenstein on Sept. 4 for their next qualifier before hosting Kazakhstan three days later.
(Writing by Mark Gleeson in London; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
