<\/p>\n
Kevin De Bruyne <\/strong>scored and Belgium <\/strong>got its European Championship campaign up and running after beating Romania <\/strong>2-0 on Saturday. The No. 3-ranked Belgians shook off the shock of losing to Slovakia <\/strong>in their opening game by responding with a dominant performance in front of the Belgium royal family at Cologne Stadium<\/strong>. Youri Tielemans <\/strong>gave them a flying start with a goal from the edge of the area in the second minute.<\/p>\n De Bruyne effectively killed the game off in the 80th after converting direct from Belgium goalkeeper Koen Casteels<\/strong>‘ long kick. All four teams in Group E have three points, meaning there is all to play for in the final round of games on Wednesday.<\/p>\n While Belgium won, there was more frustration for Romelu Lukaku, who had a third goal ruled out by VAR at these Euros. Still, he was at the center of his team’s great start when laying the ball off for Tielemans to score with a low drive from the edge of the box. It was just what Belgium needed after the Slovakia stunner, which raised the prospect of another early exit from a major tournament after being eliminated at the group stage of the 2022 World Cup.<\/p>\n The format of the Euros, in which the four best third-place teams advance, leaves more room for error. But with memories of Qatar still fresh, another defeat would have broken the confidence of a team criticized for failing to live up to expectations in the past.<\/p>\n Tielemans’ goal seemed to lift the pressure, and Belgium ruled the rest of the half with 67% of possession.<\/p>\n Lukaku thought he scored after the break, but VAR said he strayed offside before firing past Romania keeper Florin Nita<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The longer the game went on without Belgium scoring a second, the more the tension rose.<\/p>\n Dennis Man<\/strong> could have evened the score when running through on goal, but was denied by Casteels.<\/p>\n The keeper then turned provider with a long punt upfield, which De Bruyne raced on to and fired home.<\/p>\n Under former Belgium coach Roberto Martinez<\/strong>, Portugal <\/strong>advanced to the knockout phase after a 3-0 win against Turkey <\/strong>in Group F. Georgia <\/strong>picked up its first ever point at a major tournament after a drawing the Czech Republic<\/strong> 1-1 and still has hopes of advancing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nLukaku had a third goal ruled out by VAR at these Euros<\/h2>\n