Belgium posted a 2-0 triumph over Romania in their Group E fixture at the RheinEnergieStadion on Sunday to get off the mark at the Euro 2024 with strikes from Youri Tielemans and Kevin De Bruyne giving the Red Devils their first points of the tournament.
Belgian striker Romelu Lukaka had yet another goal chalked off for offside during the game, the third time in the ongoing continental showpiece that the 31-year-old has had his strike disallowed following the two goals he had ruled out for straying beyond the last defender.
Defender Arthur Theate, however, wasn’t too worried about the striker’s disallowed strikes and felt it was only a matter of time before the forward nets for his side.
“It’s probably not easy because it’s his third goal that’s disallowed, but I think it’s unlucky when you see the offside,” Theate told reporters.
“It’s very, very hard to accept because it’s maybe one centimetre (offside), but I think he’s in a good mindset,” he revealed.
He touched upon Lukaku’s importance in the squad and touted him to find the back of the net.
“He’s very important for us, he creates a lot of chances, a lot of spaces, so if he carries on and keeps going like this, I’m sure he will score a lot of goals,” the 24-year-old added.
Belgium opened their campaign with a shock 0-1 defeat to Slovakia to make things tricky for themselves.
And for the first time in the history of the European tournament, all four teams in the group- Belgium, Slovakia, Romania and Ukraine- head into the final round of fixtures level at three points each.
Belgium take on Ukraine in their remaining Group E clash, while Slovakia will face Romania on the same day.
Theate acknowledged the position his side find themselves in but also suggested confidence ahead of their final group game as they look to emulate their most recent performance in order to claim a victory and secure passage into the Round of 16.
“It’s not easy. We knew this when we lost the first game against Slovakia, we’re going to have to not lose anymore,” said Theate.
“We won yesterday so it’s a great thing. Now we have to do the same thing on Wednesday. We just have to look at ourselves and do our job and then everything will be fine,” the stopper-back signed off.
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