Kevin De Bruyne inspires turnaround as Belgium book Euros last-16 spot
Kevin de Bruyne came on as a half-time substitute to lead Belgium to a comeback victory over Denmark which booked their place in the last-16 of Euro 2020.
The Manchester City star had not featured since being forced off injured in last month’s Champions League final, but set up Thorgan Hazard’s equaliser, which cancelled out Yussuf Poulsen’s early strike, before thumping in the winner himself.
Denmark were returning to action and to Parken Stadium for the first time since midfielder Christian Eriksen’s horrifying collapse during their opening fixture against Finland on Saturday, and the game was paused in the tenth-minute to allow both sets of players and fans to celebrate his recovery with a minute’s applause.
By that point, the Danes had already got off to a dream start as Yussuf Poulsen struck inside two minutes after Dedryck Boyata’s awful attempt to play out from the back was pounced on by Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.
Denmark were the better side throughout the first-half and might have extended their lead, Mikel Damsgaard going closest as they thrived in a new-look 3-4-3 formation.
Belgian boss Roberto Martinez had seen enough to send for talisman De Bruyne and it would prove the game’s pivotal moment.
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First, Romelu Lukaku raced away from two defenders before finding De Bruyne, who feigned to shoot, sold two dummies, and then steered a clever pass inside to leave Hazard with a tap-in.
That prompted Martinez to send on the older Hazard brother, Eden, and Axel Witsel as they pushed for a winner, but it was De Bruyne who provided it with a thumping 20-yard strike on his supposedly weaker left-foot.
Denmark came close to equalising, Martin Braithwaite clipping the top of the bar with a header, but they must now beat Russia in their final game to keep alive their chances of reaching the knockout stage.