Belgium’s Rudi Garcia Commends Team’s Resilience Following Thrilling Victory Over Wales

Belgium breathed a sigh of relief after narrowly clinching a thrilling World Cup qualifier against Wales on Monday, but coach Rudi Garcia has plenty to contemplate following a close 4-3 victory at home.

Belgium had seemed comfortably in control, racing to a 3-0 lead within the first half-hour of the Group J clash at the King Baudouin Stadium. However, Wales made a valiant comeback to level the score at 3-3 with 20 minutes remaining, only for Kevin De Bruyne to secure the win two minutes before the final whistle.

“The most crucial aspect is that we emerged victorious. Psychologically, it’s difficult to surrender a three-goal advantage, but we demonstrated our mental resilience,” Garcia remarked after Belgium’s second outing in the qualification series for the 2026 finals in North America.

“We continued to fight. It’s significant that Kevin, of all people, netted the decisive goal.”

De Bruyne was instrumental throughout the match, slipping in at the back post to convert Youri Tielemans’ cross to secure the win.

Tielemans, who wore the captain’s armband for the evening, expressed that relief was the dominant sentiment following the match.

“We’re pleased with the win, but we recognise that this situation shouldn’t have occurred,” he commented regarding the Welsh resurgence.

“I can’t explain how it unfolded. However, the most unexpected things can happen with the national team.

“We felt we could have wrapped up the match sooner, but our performance dipped a bit. Then we let in a goal, and their confidence surged. At that moment, they simply outperformed us.

“We needed to defend as a cohesive unit, pick the right moments to respond, and regain control of the match, but we didn’t execute that effectively.”

After conceding a late equaliser in their opening group match against North Macedonia on Friday, Belgium’s defence will face further scrutiny after allowing Wales to score three times.

Belgium will head to Liechtenstein on September 4 for their next qualifier before facing Kazakhstan at home three days later.