De Bruyne Scores Twice as Belgium Defeats Turkey

On October 2, 2026, Belgium's Kevin De Bruyne scored twice to lead his team to a 3-0 victory over Turkey in the UEFA Nations League, League A – Group 1. The match took place at the Maurice Dufrasne stadium in Liege, eastern Belgium. In his 127th appearance for the national team, the Napoli midfielder netted the opening goal after a clever one-two play with Dodi Lukebakio, finishing coolly from the edge of the box.

Despite Belgium's initial dominance, Turkey responded with more attacking threats following De Bruyne's first goal, yet they could not convert any of their chances into goals. De Bruyne then doubled the lead, curling a shot into the top corner from just outside the box, beating Turkey's goalkeeper, Ugurcan Cakir.

Romelu Lukaku, Belgium's all-time leading scorer, added a third goal after coming on as a substitute for Lukebakio. He directed a low cross from Charles De Ketelaere into the net from close range. This match marked Turkey's third consecutive defeat in the league, while Belgium remained one point behind Group A1 leaders France.

In another match on the same day, France managed to secure a 1-1 draw with Italy. Michael Olise gave France a lead in the 55th minute, but Alessandro Bastoni equalized for Italy, denying French coach Zinedane Zidane a win in his first home match as head coach. France's unbeaten streak came to an end as they conceded their first goal under Zidane.

Elsewhere in the Nations League that day, Poland triumphed over Romania with a commanding 6-0 victory, led by veteran striker Robert Lewandowski, who scored a hat-trick. Other matches included a 1-1 draw between Bosnia-Herzegovina and Sweden, a 3-0 victory for Northern Ireland over Ukraine, and Hungary defeating Georgia 1-0. Additionally, in League C, Cyprus beat Armenia 2-0, and Montenegro edged past Latvia 2-1. Moldova beat Kazakhstan 2-1 in Astana, while the Faroe Islands drew 1-1 with Slovakia at home.