VADUZ, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Captain Youri Tielemans scored twice as Belgium cruised to a 6-0 win over minnows Liechtenstein in their 2026 World Cup qualifying Group J at the Rheinpark Stadion on Thursday, with winger Malick Fofana netting his first international goal.
Maxim De Cuyper, Arthur Theate and Kevin De Bruyne were also on target for Belgium, who were never unduly troubled by their hosts and might have won by a far greater margin had they taken their chances.
The victory takes them to seven points from their three qualifiers so far and third position in the pool, three points behind leaders Wales but with two games in hand. Liechtenstein are bottom with four defeats.
Belgium had to wait 29 minutes for their opener despite creating numerous chances as De Cuyper headed in Thomas Meunier's cross from the right, before Theate crashed a 30-yard shot against the crossbar.
It was 1-0 at halftime, but inside a minute of the restart, Tielemans produced an excellent volley from 25 yards that nestled into the bottom right-hand corner of the net.
Theate did get his first international goal when he headed home at the back post from a De Cuyper cross, and De Bruyne’s neat finish from Hans Vanaken's excellent reverse pass made it 4-0.
{{/usCountry}}Theate did get his first international goal when he headed home at the back post from a De Cuyper cross, and De Bruyne’s neat finish from Hans Vanaken's excellent reverse pass made it 4-0.
{{/usCountry}}Tielemans scored his second from the penalty spot on 70 minutes and there was a late goal for Fofana in his second international cap as he finished a well-worked Belgium move. (Reporting by Nick Said Editing by Christian Radnedge)