On Saturday, visiting Wales, Belgium failed to give a good follow-up to the resounding victory against Poland in the Nations League. The game in Cardiff ended in a 1-1 draw.
After the 6-1 win over Poland, Belgium started the game with Wales with the necessary confidence, but had a difficult start. With Gareth Bale in the starting line-up, Wales looked set to take the lead early in the first half via Ethan Ampadu. However, his goal was disallowed for offside.
After the break, the Belgians made a stronger impression and took the lead via a hit by Youri Tielemans. The team of national coach Roberto Martínez controlled the match from that moment on, but was still surprised. Substitute Brennan Johnson knocked goalkeeper Koen Casteels in the right corner with five minutes to play. After that, no more goals were scored.
Just like Wales-Belgium, the other game in the group (Netherlands-Poland) ended in a draw. The Orange squad came back from a 0-2 deficit in De Kuip, but failed to win the game due to a missed penalty by Memphis, among other things.
Due to the two draws, little will change in group 4 of division A. The Netherlands is the leader with seven points, followed by Belgium and Wales. Both countries have a total of four points.
Belgium will close the international match on Tuesday with an away game in Poland. The Dutch national team plays against Wales at the same time in De Kuip. The last two Nations League matches will be played in September.
Standings group 4 (division A)
- 1. Netherlands 3-7 (+4)
- 2. Belgium 3-4 (+2)
- 3. Poland 3-4 (-4)
- 4. Wales 3-1 (-2)