Liechtenstein 0-6 Belgium, FIFA WC Qualifiers: Lukaku’s Record Not In Sight, Says Goalscorer De Cuyper

Maxim De Cuyper joked that he does not think he will catch Belgium's record goalscorer Romelu Lukaku despite netting another goal for his country.

Belgium continued their strong start to World Cup qualifying with a resounding 6-0 victory over Liechtenstein in Group J, moving them to seven points.

They currently sit third in the group, three points behind Wales, though they have played two fewer games than the leaders.

Youri Tielemans, Arthur Theate, Kevin De Bruyne and Malick Fofana also got on the scoresheet, though it was De Cuyper who again caught the eye.

De Cuyper recorded the most shots (four), second-most dribbles completed (three), second-most chances created (three), and second-most touches, along with his goal and assist.

The full-back now has four goals and two assists in 11 matches for Belgium, averaging a goal nearly every three games. Lukaku, incidentally, had only scored two goals in the same number of matches at the start of his career.

"Ever catch up with Lukaku?" laughed De Cuyper. "That's not going to happen.

"It's nice to score those goals. I'm in the right flow and have to enjoy it. Scoring those goals, launching teammates: those are my qualities. Scoring with the head is not.

"It may have been my first header goal. I hit the ball well. It's one of my better goals."

In the first half, Belgium managed just two shots on target, with De Cuyper scoring from one of those, but they stepped up their performance after the break.

They scored with five of their seven attempts on target, and generated 2.2 expected goals (xG) in the second half, and De Bruyne was delighted that their patience paid off.

"We created enough opportunities in the first half," he said. "They may not have been the biggest, but still.

"We often made it to the back line, but the last pass was not great. After 30 to 35 minutes, we felt that they were getting tired, which made it easier in the second half.

"But these matches are never easy. With all due respect to Liechtenstein, but above all, you want to score as much as possible and as quickly as possible. Although you really just have to be patient.

"In the second half, it went better, and the coach did not say much during half-time. We knew ourselves that we could be better in front of Liechtenstein's goal."