Belgium keeps quarter-final hopes alive
Kevin De Bruyne and Charles De Ketelaere were on target as Belgium launched a first-half fightback to beat Turkiye in Izmir.
Having parted company with Vincenzo Montella and hired Sergen Yalcin since the previous international break, Turkiye looked determined to impress its new boss early on.
It went ahead in spectacular fashion after 20 minutes, as Real Madrid midfielder Arda Guler whipped a glorious, left-footed free-kick around the Belgium wall and into the top-left corner from 30 yards out.
That lead only lasted seven minutes, though, as Jeremy Doku tricked his way past Oguz Aydin and centred from the left, with his former Manchester City team-mate Kevin De Bruyne crashing a first-time finish high into the net.
Belgium's rapid turnaround was complete on the half-hour mark.
Doku was involved again, riding Aydin's challenge as he bustled his way to the right side of the area, before seeing his cross blocked. Nicolas Raskin pounced on the loose ball and found Maxim De Cuyper at the far post, and though the Brighton man saw his first attempted cutback blocked, his second found Charles De Ketelaere for a tap-in.
Diego Moreira curled an effort over the crossbar prior to the interval, and Belgium had a better chance to extend its lead just before the hour, only for Ugurcan Cakir to thwart De Ketelaere.
Turkiye applied some pressure, with Guler shooting straight at Senne Lammens as he hit the deck somewhat easily under the attention of Raskin, while Deniz Gul and Hakan Calhanoglu both saw angled drives blocked by the Manchester United goalkeeper, but that positive spell came too late for Turkiye.
When Belgium fell behind to Guler's stunning free-kick – his eighth goal in 37 senior internationals – it was staring at the prospect of its Nations League quarter-final hopes being ended with a game to spare.
But Mark van Bommel's side fought back to pile the pressure on the Azzurri, and Doku was the catalyst for the revival.
The live-wire Manchester City winger attempted a staggering 15 dribbles during the match, seven of which were successful, including one that led to him assisting De Bruyne.
