Craig Bellamy’s unbeaten start as Wales boss came to an end, but his team showed real spirit in a thrilling 4-3 loss to Belgium in Brussels, clawing their way back from 3-0 down in a World Cup qualifier to almost snatch a point.
The hosts got off the mark on 15 minutes after Kevin De Bruyne’s close-range effort hit Brennan Johnson on the arm. A lengthy VAR review followed, and Romelu Lukaku stepped up to calmly slot home his 89th international goal.
Just four minutes later, the Red Devils doubled their lead. De Bruyne nicked the ball high up the pitch and a slick move across the box ended with Youri Tielemans smashing in from Maxim De Cuyper’s low ball.
Jeremy Doku added a third with a brilliant solo effort, gliding past defenders on the right before cutting inside and firing a left-footed shot past Karl Darlow, who got a hand to it but couldn’t keep it out.
Wales were stunned, but just before the break they were handed a lifeline. Nottingham Forest keeper Matz Sels was judged to have fouled Chris Mepham while trying to punch clear a corner, and Harry Wilson coolly converted the penalty.
Wilson was at it again after the restart, pinging a pinpoint pass to Sorba Thomas on the left, who had time to pick his spot and make it 3-2 on the hour.
Ten minutes later, the Welsh side completed the comeback. Wilson once again found Thomas, who nodded it back across goal for Johnson to finish.
But just as it looked like Bellamy’s side might earn a famous point, Belgium struck late. De Bruyne tucked away Tielemans’ cross from close range with just two minutes to go, sealing the win.
The result sees Wales slip to second in Group J, overtaken by North Macedonia after their narrow 1-0 win in Kazakhstan earlier in the day.
