De Bruyne brace ends Wales’ automatic World Cup hopes | OneFootball

Wales’ dreams of automatic qualification for the 2026 World Cup were dealt a heavy blow as Belgium ran out 4-2 winners at Cardiff City Stadium on Monday, leaving the play-offs as their only realistic route to next summer’s finals.

Craig Bellamy’s side started strongly, taking the lead in the seventh minute when Joe Rodon rose unmarked to head home from a Sorba Thomas corner.

The Cardiff crowd erupted, but the joy was short-lived. Kevin De Bruyne levelled from the penalty spot after a harsh VAR decision against Ethan Ampadu, and Thomas Meunier quickly gave Belgium the lead following a slick cut-back from the electric Jérémy Doku.

Belgium dominated the remainder of the first half, with Doku, De Bruyne and Leandro Trossard all missing chances to extend the advantage. Wales had glimpses of hope, notably Jordan James forcing a save from Thibaut Courtois, but the Belgians always looked the more dangerous side.

The second half saw a brief Welsh resurgence, but a moment of poor judgment from James gifted Belgium a second penalty, and De Bruyne made no mistake to double his tally.

Substitute Nathan Broadhead briefly gave the home fans hope with a close-range strike, only for Trossard to restore Belgium’s two-goal cushion in the 90th minute, sealing a fourth consecutive defeat for Wales against the Red Devils.

The result leaves Belgium top of Group J, four points clear of Wales in third, with matches against Kazakhstan and Liechtenstein set to confirm their near-certain automatic qualification.

Wales’ final group game against North Macedonia in November will likely decide their play-off seeding, but automatic qualification is now out of reach.