In what was their 3rd Euro 2024 qualifier, Belgium’s national men’s football team the Red Devils enjoyed a 0-3 win against Estonia in Tallinn on Tuesday evening. Instrumental in what turned out to be a decisive victory was Romelu Lukuku. Big Rom scored twice with Belgium's other goal coming from Johan Bakayoko. It was Bakayoko’s first ever goal for the Red Devils.
Despite the doubts and uncertainty that had arisen after the hasty departure of Thibaut Courtois and Saturday’s draw against Austria, Belgium beat Estonia with relative ease. However, the Estonians are ranked 108th in the FIFA rankings and have never qualified for a European Championships.
The start of the match was quite difficult for the Red Devils. During the first half an hour of the game, they failed to create almost any chances. One exception to this was a quick counter on 17 minutes through which Lukaku could have opened the scoring. However, Mike Trésor's pass was not 100% and this forced Lukaku to strike the ball too softly.
The Belgians were heavily reliant on Romelu Lukaku, who has been in great shape since the arrival of Domenico Tedesco as national team coach. The Inter Milan striker scored twice in three minutes (37th, 40th). The first goal came after an Aster Vranckx cross, the second thanks to an Arthur Theate cross. Belgium finished the half two goals up. to break before the break.
Second in Group F
Belgium played with more freedom in the second half but struggled to widen their lead. Trésor missed a good scoring opportunity and Timothy Castagne hit the side netting from the resulting corner.
Substitute Michy Batshuayi’s was also off-target around 15 minutes from time. In the end it was Bakayoko that put Belgium three-up in the 90th minute. Yannick Carrasco had a good chance to make it four in the third minute of injury time, but it was not to be and the match ended 0-3 to Belgium.
With 7 points from their first three games Belgium are second in Group F, three points behind Austria (who have played 4 games). Sweden are 3rd with 3 points and Estonia and Azerbaijan have 1 point each.