By Alessandro Schiavone at the King Boudewijn Stadium (formerly Heysel) World Cup 2026 Qualifiers Belgium 4-3 Wales Goals: Lukaku, Tielemans, Doku, De Bruyne (B). Wilson, Thomas, and Johnson (W) On Tottenham icon Jan Vertonghen’s departure and the horrific 40th anniversary of the Heysel disaster, Belgium won a seven-goal thriller after a Fulham player nearly single-handedly got Wales back on track.
Wales, guided by ex-West Ham player Craig Bellamy, got off to a shaky start, falling behind 3-0 with less than half an hour played. Flamboyant Premier League three, past and present, Romelu Lukaku, Youri Tielemans, and Jeremy Doku appeared to have put the visitors to the sword.
But Harry Wilson led Wales’ comeback. He scored a morale-boosting penalty soon before half-time, giving his team new hope. Six minutes after the restart, he set up Sorba Thomas with a fantastic crossfield delivery, putting the Huddersfield man in danger.
Six minutes after the restart, he set up Sorba Thomas with a fantastic crossfield delivery, putting the Huddersfield man in danger. And the lid appeared to have fallen off completely for Rudi Garcia’s Belgium when the Cottager set up Tottenham Hotspur’s Bilbao hero Brennan Johnson with a far-post centre for Thomas, who headed back across the face of goal.
However, it was not to be, and just when the two countries appeared to have settled for a draw in this cracker, Napoli-to-be superstar De Bruyne completed Koni de Winter’s delivery with a flourish with two minutes remaining at the far stick.
Belgium now controls its own destiny as a result of this historic triumph. However, most of today’s headlines will focus on Wilson and his crushing five-star performance.
He looked like a million dollars in yesterday’s World Cup 2026 qualifier, and his extremely aggressive and intense performance will definitely be remembered for years to come. And this time, he wasn’t even competing against Brentford….
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