Belgium's Vertonghen has 'a lot of confidence' in under-fire Lukaku / Photo: Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV - AFP
-
Fiji to deploy solar-powered Australian military drones at sea
-
Trump's new press secretary defends 'lawyer' title
-
'Multiple victims' in Oregon elementary school shooting, police say
-
Wallabies coach has 'faith' as All Blacks juggernaut awaits
-
'Multiple victims' in Oregon elementary school shooting: police
-
Ailing UK director Mike Leigh wishes he could make '100 more films'
-
ChangeNOW Announces NOW AI After Resolving Website Integration Vulnerability
-
Pixagram Announces Free Account Creation for 250 New Users Daily Through 2026
-
Argentine demonstration over education cuts ends in clashes
-
Macron warns urgent to strike EU budget deal before French vote runup
-
Argentine protesters, police clash at demo over university funding
-
Zelensky rallies European allies as Trump ties slump
-
US stocks end higher as AI shares stabilize
-
Guardians edge Rays to seize MLB playoff series lead
-
School roof collapse kills 32 children, teacher in Pakistan
-
Trump scraps plan to livestream execution after fierce backlash
-
Lyon down Palace in Europa League, Sunderland leave it late
-
Martinez apologises for outburst at Man Utd hierarchy
-
UniCredit says receives ECB green light for Commerzbank takeover
-
Houthis launch deadly attack on presidential palace in Yemen's Aden
-
New York City pension fund asks Anthropic to delay IPO
-
Brazil forward Antony says home burgled during Betis match
-
Venezuela's Maduro denies US torture charges as 'false accusations'
-
Ravens face familiar foe in Browns coach Monken
-
Somalia sets May presidential election despite insecurity
-
France, Germany reach deal on future of car industry
-
Chelsea's Caicedo eager to be more of a leader
-
Carney campaigns for Canadian unity before Alberta secession vote
-
Rahm reaches separation deal with LIV in bankruptcy court
-
ATP proposes rankings system changes, extra player bonuses
-
UN chief urges nations to end 'war on nature'
-
Russell Brand was 'monster-like', alleged victim tells UK court
-
Newcastle boss Jaissle says Fernandez-Pardo just needs a goal
-
Crowded Launches Crowded MCP, Bringing Nonprofit Financial Operations Into ChatGPT and Claude
-
Infantino offers apology but 'no answers' at FIFA meeting over World Cup plan
-
Albanian PM condemns 'chaos' as violent unrest spreads
-
Don't exclude Turkey from 'Made in Europe' plan: minister to AFP
-
Italian football suffers new blow with Champions League misery
-
French duo Justice to score 'GTA VI': game maker
-
Trump scraps plan to livestream execution after broad backlash
-
El Nino a 'terrifying' threat to coral reefs: UN biodiversity expert
-
Seven missing off Romania after latest Black Sea drone attacks
-
Barcola must get used to Liverpool highs and lows, says Iraola
-
ARKBRIDGE Outlines Jonathan Morelli’s “Picks and Shovels” AI Infrastructure Investment Strategy
-
Versus Trade Wins Best ECN/STP Broker APAC 2026, Marking Third UF Awards Recognition
-
Tech sell-off rolls on as hot inflation data stokes rate worries
-
Three dead as Istanbul sees heaviest rainfall in 80 years
-
McIlroy makes 'solid' start in rain-hit Delhi as Norgaard leads
-
US producer prices see biggest jump since 2022 in added challenge to Trump
-
Seven missing after fire on vessel in Black Sea off Romania
Belgium's Vertonghen has 'a lot of confidence' in under-fire Lukaku
Jan Vertonghen said on Tuesday he has "a lot of confidence" in Romelu Lukaku after the Belgium striker endured a frustrating outing in their shock opening defeat by Slovakia at Euro 2024.
Lukaku, Belgium's all-time record scorer with 85 international goals, missed several chances and had two goals ruled out by VAR as they slipped to a surprise 1-0 loss.
The 31-year-old was playing his first major tournament match since missing a series of gilt-edged opportunities against Croatia as Belgium were dumped out of the 2022 World Cup in the group stage.
Belgium face Romania, who started their campaign with an impressive 3-0 win over Ukraine, in their second Group E match in Cologne on Saturday.
"I have a lot of confidence in Romelu, there is not one guy in this team I have more confidence in, mentally wise and quality wise," Vertonghen told reporters.
"Romelu loves these moments, that the pressure is on him, the focus is on him.
"They will be on him again on Saturday as well and I'm sure he'll find the way to the goal."
The 37-year-old Vertonghen, who said he is fit to play after recovering from a groin injury suffered while playing for Anderlecht last month, insisted the team did not need to panic.
"Obviously the team is very disappointed after yesterday's result, you always want to win the first game in a tournament to take the pressure away a bit -- the pressure that's always there, building up to a big tournament," he added.
"The pressure is still there, probably even more now. That's why we're disappointed.
"We're not disappointed in the way we played, the chances we created, the way we defended. But looking back at the game, it must give us some confidence that we were able to create those chances.
"I don't think we need to change too much, that would be a mistake in my opinion."
Belgium have now failed to score from their last 47 attempts at goal in major tournaments, following the World Cup matches against Croatia and Morocco in Qatar two years ago.
"Obviously we want to score. It means that we shoot a lot and we haven't scored," Vertonghen said.
"We scored twice yesterday, obviously they didn't count. Maybe we should work a bit on the finishing this week."
Y.Nakamura--AMWN
