Belgium finally shook off the leftover frustration from that slightly odd 1-1 draw in Kazakhstan, as reported by Softfootball, and absolutely tore through Liechtenstein with a thumping 7-0 win in Liège, sealing top spot in Group J and punching their ticket to next summer’s World Cup. The country celebrated this victory via their official X account.
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Softfootball predicted a 4-0 victory in the pre-game report. Barely three minutes in, Captain Youri Tielemans whipped a teasing cross into the box. It took a funny bounce off a defender and dropped right onto Hans Vanaken’s head. One nod, one bounce, goal. Just like that, 1-0, and Belgium already looked like they were in training mode.
Liechtenstein hardly touched the ball afterwards; for long spells in that first half, they were pinned inside their own penalty area.
Tielemans almost doubled it with a shot cleared off the line, and Meunier’s follow-up was kept out by Benjamin Büchel, who was already way too busy for his own liking. Still, you could feel another Belgian goal coming from a mile away.
And sure enough, around the 32-minute mark, Alexis Saelemaekers found space out wide and cut the ball back neatly for Jérémy Doku. The winger powered a low strike into the corner—2-0 and fully deserved.
Doku wasn’t in a generous mood either; later on he danced past two helpless defenders and smashed in his second of the night. By halftime, Belgium were strolling at 3-0, and Liechtenstein looked relieved just to hear the whistle.
The second half didn’t offer them any mercy. Just seven minutes after the restart, Tielemans threaded a clever ball through for Brandon Mechele, who poked in his first-ever international goal.
Saelemaekers added another after Büchel spilt a routine save, and Charles De Ketelaere wrapped things up with a sharp brace—first squeezing one in from a tight angle, then flicking home Meunier’s volley with a lovely bit of improvisation.
This was more than just Belgium doing the job; it was a statement victory. Liechtenstein, ranked 206th in the world, ended their qualifying run with 31 goals conceded and zero scored, a really rough outing for them. Belgium, meanwhile, head to their fourth straight World Cup. And with this kind of attacking firepower chaotic at times but dangerous always, they’re going to be pretty hard to stop next summer.
