Some have speculated that this Euro tournament may be the last chance for Belgium's "Golden Generation" of soccer talent to win a major international title. So far, they have not managed to win one, and that generation of talented Belgian players is aging. That meant that expectations were very high for the Belgian side for this tournament.
In their first game at this Euro tournament, Belgium was the victim of one of the biggest - I even heard the biggest - upset in the history of the Euro tournament when they lost to Slovakia. Hard to believe, but there you have it.
Well, they responded brilliantly in the second game. They defeated Romania, 2-0, and left no doubts. Youri Tielemans broke through in just the second minute, giving the Belgians the early lead.
After that, their defense held strong. The Romanians had some chances, but could not capitalize. Then, Kevin De Bruyne broke through in the 79th minute to pretty much put this one away.
Anything less than a win would have been disastrous for the Belgians. But with this win, and a game coming up against Ukraine which Belgium really should find a way to win, they are right back in this thing. They can and probably should be able to advance. Romania had defeated Ukraine in the first game for those two teams, while surprisingly, the Ukrainians managed to defeat Slovakia on Friday, 2-1. Kind of a strange triangle there in Group E.
Otherwise, Portugal just crushed Turkey, 3-0. Not really a surprise there.
Earlier today in Group A action, Germany scored a late goal after trailing Switzerland for most of the game. That allowed them to finish with the most points in Group A, and so they advance. So, too, does Switzerland, which clinched second place.
Also, Scotland and Hungary played for a chance to advance as the third place team in Group A. It was deadlocked in a scoreless draw until just seconds before extra time was set to expire, when Hungary managed to break through with a dramatic goal to win it in the final seconds. Scottish players were stunned and clearly devastated. But the win gives Hungary a real chance to advance as one of the top third place teams, although they will now need help and have to wait to see the results of other games in other groups.
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