Undefeated, Belgium Qualifies for Euro 2024

Striker Romelu Lukaku qualified Belgium for the Euro 2024 finals after beating Austria 3-2 in qualifying matches. (Twitter @EURO2024)

JAKARTA - Belgium is one of the four teams that have won tickets to the Euro 2024 finals. This is the third time in a row that Belgium has competed in the European Cup after beating Austria 3-2 in the qualifying round at the Ernst Happel Stadium, Saturday, October 14 early morning Western Indonesian Time (WIB).

Belgium's record in the group stage is indeed impressive. They are unbeaten with a record of five wins and one draw.

The victory over Austria means Belgium has 16 points. Three points ahead of Austria who is in second place. Meanwhile, Sweden, which is in third place, only has six points.

Even though they still have two matches left, Belgium can no longer catch up with Sweden, who have three matches remaining. If they win in all these matches, Sweden will only get 15 points.

However, Sweden can still compete with Austria for another ticket to Germany. Moreover, Austria has completed six matches.

Belgium's success in qualifying for the finals was expected because Les Diables Rouges did not have any significant opponents.

Only Austria and Sweden are quite serious competitors. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan and Estonia simply completed the battle in the group stage.

Evidently, Belgium went smoothly, leaving its competitors behind. This success made coach Domenico Tedesco make an impressive debut. Replacing Roberto Martinez, who failed at the 2022 World Cup on February 8, 2023, Tedesco immediately took the team through to the finals.

He was also considered quite successful in combining old players with young people such as Jeremy Doku (20), Lois Openda (23), Amadou Onana (22) and Johan Bakayoko (20).

"I'm proud of all the young players. Some of them are just playing for the first time. They can still be maximized," said Tedesco.

"Success [qualifying for Euro 2024] means a lot for Belgium. It's not easy to do it," he said again.

Meanwhile, Doku was happy that the team could go through a tough match and win it. According to him, the most important thing is that the team remains united and solid.

"I'm very happy. We were able to get through a difficult match, especially at the end. But we showed a strong mentality," said Doku.

"Now we have qualified. But the most important thing is that we remain one and solid," said the Manchester City forward.

In the match against Austria, who was the host, Belgium immediately stepped on the gas. They, in fact, were three goals ahead. Starting with Dodi Lukebakio's goal which completed Timoty Castagne's assist in the 12th minute.

However, Belgium was only able to add a goal in the second half. Once again, Lukebakio was the one who broke into the opponent's goal and scored a brace.

Not long after, it was senior striker Romelu Lukaku's turn to establish Belgium's lead in the 58th minute.

Even though they were 3-0 behind, Austria refused to give up. Their efforts also paid off. The hosts reduced the deficit through Konrad Laimer's goal in the 72nd minute.

They actually became more aggressive after Belgium lost Onana, who received a second yellow card followed by a red card in the 78th minute.

Unfortunately, Austria could not take advantage of its superior number of players. The hosts finally only added one goal from the penalty spot which Marcel Sabitzer completed. The score changed to 3-2 for Belgium and lasted until the end of the match.