Vienna, Austria: Belgium won a tough match in Austria (2-3) and will participate in the next European Championship. Sevilla winger Dodi Lukebakio scored twice, his first two goals for his country.
The Belgian and Sevilla’s forward played a crucial role in Belgian victory over Austria in their home ground, Ernst Happel Stadion, providing the Belgian Red Devils with an early goal. He put Belgium ahead by 1-0 in just 12th minute.
Belgium were facing a very strong opponent yesterday. They outperformed Belgium in ball possession. Austria has 58% ball possession compared to Belgium’s 48% and took 16 shots in entire game, double that of Belgium (8).
Still, it was not enough to defeat Belgium. Lukebakio’s remarkable performance seals the Red Devils a spot in Euro 2024 after Ronaldo’s Portugal and Mbappe’s France.
Yesterday, Portugal beat Slovakia 3-2 to qualify for Euro 2024. Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 124th and 125th international goals and is set to play the 6th Euro of his career.
France booked their ticket to the next Euro after beating the Netherlands 1-2. Author of a brace, Kylian Mbappé became Les Bleus’ 4th top scorer (42 goals in 72 caps) behind Antoine Griezmann (44), Thierry Henry (51) and Olivier Giroud (54).
In the same group, Greece, who picked up 3 points from their trip to Ireland (0-2), move 3 points ahead of the Netherlands in the standings but with a game in hand.
Lukebakio striked again in second half. He doubles the Belgian lead in 58th minute, scoring a brace. Three minutes later, Romelu Lukaku, the Belgian main striker, scores for his country, putting Belgium ahead by 3-0.
Austria tried to fight back and broke the deadlock in the 72nd minute with a beautiful strike by Konrad Laimer. The referee awarded Austria a penalty, and Marcel Sabitzer perfectly seized the opportunity. Austria was still one down, but hopes emerged for Austrian fans for a draw.
Belgian succeeded in maintaining the lead and defeated Austria 3-0, qualifying for Euro 2024. The Red Devils remain undefeated in their last five games, with four wins and one draw.
