De Bruyne scored twice in Liège, and Türkiye have lost all three of their Nations League games
Kevin De Bruyne’s double and a Romelu Lukaku goal off the bench gave Belgium a 3-0 win over Türkiye, who sit bottom of Group A1 without a point.
Oct 3, 2026
Belgium had three points from their first two Nations League games against France and Italy. Kevin De Bruyne started to add to that inside ten minutes on Friday night in Liège, and by full time Türkiye were bottom of Group A1 with three defeats from three.
De Bruyne, captaining the side in his 127th international, opened the scoring after a one-two with Dodi Lukébakio and a finish from the edge of the area. His second came just before the hour, a curling shot from a similar spot that went into the top corner past Uğurcan Çakır. Romelu Lukaku, Belgium’s all-time record goalscorer, came off the bench and turned in Charles De Ketelaere’s low cross in the 76th minute.
Van Bommel’s captain is still running the show
De Bruyne is now at Napoli, and his manager did not hide how much he still relies on him. “Kevin De Bruyne always wants to play,” Mark van Bommel said. “He is in a really good groove. He is radiating joy, and you can see that in the goals he is scoring.”
De Bruyne talked about the younger players around him. “I try to lead by example for the younger players,” he said, adding that he still feels he can contribute.
The win puts Belgium on six points, one behind France. They started the group with a 2-0 win in Italy, then lost 1-0 at home to France when Michael Olise scored late. The rematch is in France on Monday, and top spot is on it.
Montella counts the penalty-box entries
Türkiye have scored once in three games and conceded eight. Vincenzo Montella’s side lost 1-0 at home to France and 4-1 at home to Italy before this, and the Liège result leaves them four points off third place.
Montella pointed at the chances rather than the scoreline. “We entered the opponent’s penalty area 40 times, while Belgium entered ours 26 times,” he said. “At this level, unfortunately, you cannot make mistakes. When you make mistakes, opponents do not forgive you easily.”
He also brushed off talk of resigning, reminding critics that this group of players took Türkiye to a World Cup for the first time in 24 years and won promotion to League A.
The trip to Italy on Monday gets harder. Arda Güler was booked in stoppage time after a run-in with Nathan Ngoy, and that caution, along with one for Barış Alper Yılmaz, means both are suspended. Lose again and Türkiye’s stay in League A starts to look very short.