COLOGNE, Germany — Domenico Tedesco wants his Belgium side to be more aggressive in front of goal after securing a crucial 2-0 win over Romania in Cologne on Saturday.
After losing their first match 1–0 to Slovakia, Belgium secured a crucial win thanks to goals from Youri Tielemans in the 76th second and Player of the Match Kevin De Bruyne in the 80th minute.
But the two goals ended several periods of Belgian dominance where they had numerous chances but failed to capitalise on them. In total, Belgium had 20 shots on goal, nine of which were on target, but had to work hard for the win.
Romelu Lukaku was unlucky to have another goal disallowed. This was his third disallowed goal at the Euros after two against Slovakia. This time he was marginally offside for a goal scored in the second half.
The result leaves Group E tied, with all four teams entering the final round of matches with three points each. Although Tedesco is happy with the win, he wants his side to be more aggressive in front of goal.
“We are relieved that we won the game, and we missed one or two chances and I am not happy with that,” Tedesco said in his news conference. “It would be great if we could decide the game earlier.”
He said: “It’s sad – if you look at the number and quality of chances in both games – now having scored two goals in these two games, it’s less (than they should have done). It’s important to get the three points, but it was possible to score four or five goals tonight.”
“It’s already great that we created these chances, but we have to put the game to bed first. If you don’t score, you have to suffer until the end.”
Tedesco found no similarity in his wastefulness in front of goal in both matches, which included his three disallowed strikes.
“I have to look at the circumstances again – you can see it’s unfortunate – millimetres offside, handball (against Slovakia). Romelu has scored three goals but three goals were cancelled out and it’s also a bit of timing, so of course it’s both luck and bad luck.
“Sometimes the goalkeeper was really good in certain situations, or the defender saved a goal in the final tackling, so that’s it.”
De Bruyne has no concerns about Lukaku’s record at Euro 2024.
“He scored three times. Romelu played brilliantly today, he was very generous and gave the ball to Yuri for the assist,” De Bruyne said. “For me he scored three goals, whether they were allowed or not.
“He’s here, he’s scoring. There’s no frustration when you talk about two centimetres for offside, he’s had a fantastic tournament so far.”
De Bruyne performed brilliantly as Belgium captain and spoke about his leadership role in the team. He said after the match that one day he will say goodbye to his international career and leave it to the next generation, but he has not yet decided whether this will be his last campaign or not.
“I have been playing in the team for the last 10 years and I have knowledge to share with them, but I have not thought about whether this is the end for me. It will be up to others to take over, but I don’t like to think about when I am retiring or what my future holds.”
With Belgium focused on their final group match against Ukraine on Wednesday, Tedesco will not have Dodi Lukebakio available through suspension but is hopeful Thomas Meunier will be available as he is set to link up with the squad in a few days after recovering from a muscle injury.
Arthur Theet asked for a replacement due to injury during the win over Romania but should be fit. They are also awaiting the results of a scan on Axel Witsel, who was absent from the squad for Saturday’s game, but are hopeful he has not suffered a serious setback.
