Sports Desk:

YouriTielemans breathed new life into Belgium’s Euro 2024 campaign as the Aston Villa midfielder’s goal after just 73 seconds inspired a vital 2-0 win against Romania on Saturday.

Domenico Tedesco’s side would have been on the brink of elimination if they had suffered a second successive Group E defeat.

Belgium beat Romania to breathe new lifeButTielemans’ second-minute strike in Cologne eased fears of yet another major tournament flop from star-studded Belgium.

Kevin De Bruyne wrapped up the points in the closing stages to leave all four teams in the group level on three points. The stage is set for a dramatic final round of fixtures in the battle to reach the last 16.

Belgium face Ukraine and Romania play Slovakia on 26 June.

With 45 rungs separating the two nations in FIFA’s rankings, third-placed Belgium’s 1-0 loss to Slovakia was the biggest upset in European Championship history.

“I have the same feeling as against Slovakia: we played well but the difference is that we scored and won today,” said Belgium captain De Bruynel.