Türkiye 1–2 Belgium: De Bruyne and De Ketelaere turn Güler's free-kick into defeat

Belgium overturned an early deficit to beat Türkiye 2–1 at Gürsel Aksel Stadium in İzmir on Thursday, strengthening their position in UEFA Nations League Group A1. Arda Güler appeared to give new Türkiye coach Sergen Yalçın the ideal start with a spectacular free-kick after 20 minutes. Belgium's response was immediate and decisive: Kevin De Bruyne levelled seven minutes later, and Charles De Ketelaere struck in the 30th minute. There were no further goals after the break, leaving the visitors with all three points.

The result was settled by a brief but revealing passage of first-half football. Türkiye's lead was built on a moment of exceptional individual technique; Belgium's two goals came from coordinated attacks and movement into high-value areas. For Mark van Bommel's side, it was an important recovery after their 4–1 defeat in France last month. For Yalçın, the first competitive match of his tenure brought encouragement in Güler's quality but no change to Türkiye's winless group record.

How Belgium reversed the game in ten first-half minutes

Güler broke the deadlock in the 20th minute with a direct free-kick from long range that flew into the top-left corner. The goal offered Türkiye a chance to dictate the next phase rather than chase an opponent. Yet their advantage lasted only seven minutes. Jérémy Doku advanced down Belgium's left and supplied De Bruyne centrally; the midfielder finished emphatically to make it 1–1 in the 27th minute.

Belgium completed the turnaround almost at once. After Diego Moreira's close-range effort was saved by Uğurcan Çakır, Maxim De Cuyper moved the ball back into a dangerous area and De Ketelaere converted from close range in the 30th minute. It was not simply the speed of Belgium's response that mattered: the two goals came from different attacking situations but shared the same principle, creating space and finding a player in front of goal. Türkiye's defenders had little opportunity to regain composure between the equaliser and the winner.

What the comeback says about the two teams

The contrast in the goals defined the match. Türkiye could point to Güler's ability to manufacture something extraordinary, but that moment was not enough to protect the lead. Belgium, by contrast, produced two well-supported sequences: Doku's delivery identified De Bruyne in the box, while De Cuyper's follow-up pass ensured the initial attempt on the second goal was not the end of the move. Their attacking width and second-phase reactions made the difference.

Yalçın's challenge is therefore broader than finding more inspiration from his most creative player. Türkiye have now lost five successive League A group fixtures, and this was another contest in which the margin between an encouraging spell and a damaging result proved painfully small. The priority before France is to protect central areas when the ball moves wide, respond to opposition momentum and convert individual flashes of quality into a collective performance lasting the full match.

Belgium also have work to do. Their two-goal burst produced the winning position, but it did not lead to an inflated scoreline or a second-half goal. The positive takeaway is that Van Bommel's team recovered quickly after conceding and then saw out a difficult away fixture. The caution is that a future opponent may demand more sustained control than a short, decisive sequence. The final score establishes the result; it does not, by itself, prove domination across all 90 minutes.

The second half and selection decisions

The score remained 1–2 through the second half. Türkiye introduced Hakan Çalhanoğlu for Orkun Kökçü and Deniz Gül for Enes Ünal in the 58th minute, seeking another route back into the match. Belgium later replaced De Bruyne with Leandro Trossard and Diego Moreira with Dodi Lukebakio in the 68th minute. The substitutions changed personnel, not the outcome: Belgium protected the lead established by their first-half goals.

Group A1 implications: Belgium stay in the race

The victory took Belgium to nine points from five Nations League matches. Their hopes of a top-two finish remain tied to the group's other result and their final meeting with Italy on Sunday, 15 November; the İzmir win is valuable, but it does not automatically secure a quarter-final place. Belgium also completed a league-phase double over Türkiye, following October's 3–0 win in Liège.

Türkiye, meanwhile, remained on zero points after five matches and can no longer climb off the bottom of Group A1, as UEFA's matchday-five qualification scenarios made clear before kick-off. Their final group fixture is away to France on 15 November. It is a demanding assignment, but also an immediate test of what Yalçın can repair in the short time between matches. The result in İzmir underscores the first practical need: better collective protection around moments of opposition pressure.

The decisive takeaway

Güler supplied the outstanding individual strike, but Belgium supplied the stronger response. De Bruyne and De Ketelaere turned a 1–0 deficit into a 2–1 lead before the half-hour had elapsed, and that lead survived until full time. For Belgium, the result sustains a meaningful qualification opportunity. For Türkiye, it leaves a first-match lesson for their new manager: one spectacular goal cannot compensate for a three-minute defensive collapse.