National Telescope national telescope newspaper
Kevin de Bruyne scored twice as Belgium secured a 3-1 win over Israel in their UEFA Nations League opener, played behind closed doors in Debrecen, Hungary.
The victory places Belgium joint-top of Group 2 in League A with Italy, who also won 3-1 against France.
Originally scheduled to be held in Brussels, the match was relocated due to security concerns linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Other Belgian cities also declined to host the game.
De Bruyne gave Belgium an early lead in the 21st minute after Jeremy Doku set him up with a cross from the left. Israel equalized in the 36th minute when a header from Timothy Castagne deflected off his own crossbar and into the net.
Belgium regained the lead in the 48th minute when Youri Tielemans scored following a flick from Lois Openda. Openda then won a penalty in the 56th minute, which De Bruyne converted.
Openda won another penalty just four minutes later after being fouled by Sagiv Jehezkel. De Bruyne, aiming for his first hat-trick for Belgium, passed the ball to Openda for the penalty, but Yoav Gerafi made a save with his legs.
AFP
