Belgium U21 Edge Past Belarus With Late Penalty
Belgium U21 secured a narrow 1-0 victory over Belarus U21 in their Group Stage-18 clash on Wednesday evening. The result keeps the hosts top of the table with ten points from five matches, while Belarus sit fifth on four points after six games. To be fair, the visitors had shown flashes of promise earlier in the campaign with wins against Kazakhstan U21, but those have been sandwiched between heavier defeats.
The decisive moment came at the 70-minute mark when N. Bassette converted a penalty. It was a clinical finish that extended Belgium's unbeaten run to eight across all competitions. By then, the game had already been reshaped by events in the second half that left Belarus with a mountain to climb.
At 62 minutes, P. Apetenok received his second yellow card and was sent off after accumulating bookings at 35 and 62 minutes. The dismissal came soon after Belarus had made their first substitution pair at the hour mark. And here's the thing — teams don't usually come back from playing a full half without that kind of numerical advantage.
Belgium's recent form shows they're finding their rhythm. A 7-0 thrashing of Wales U21 and a 2-0 win over Denmark U21 suggest attacking intent, even if a 1-2 loss to Netherlands U21 exposed defensive vulnerabilities. Belarus will need to regroup quickly with their qualification hopes hanging by a thread.
The final whistle brought four more yellow cards — two for each side — including K. Van De Perre at 90+4 minutes. Belgium now have one foot in the next round, while Belarus face the prospect of elimination unless they turn things around dramatically.
