Belgium's De Bruyne fires double to sink Turkiye

  • Kevin De Bruyne scored twice as Belgium beat Turkiye 3-0, while France were held 1-1 by Italy in the UEFA Nations League.

Napoli midfielder De Bruyne, in his 127th match for the Belgians, scored the opening goal, playing a nice one-two with Dodi Lukebakio before a cool finish from the edge of the box.

While Belgium looked threatening without creating many clear-cut chances, Turkiye posed the greater attacking danger after De Bruyne's opener.

But they had no reward for their efforts in the Belgian city of Liege.

Instead, De Bruyne claimed a second, curling a ball from the edge of the box past Turkiye goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir into the top corner.

A third came from Romelu Lukaku, Belgium's all-time record goalscorer, who had replaced Lukebakio.

A low cross from Charles De Ketelaere fell to Lukaku, who managed to skew the ball past Cakir from close range.

It was a third defeat in as many games for Turkiye, while the result left Belgium one point adrift of Group A1 leaders France.