Belgium forward Romelu Lukaku finds himself hesitating to celebrate goals at Euro 2024, teammate Jérémy Doku revealed on Monday, following three disallowed goals due to VAR reviews.
Lukaku faced setbacks in Belgium’s 1-0 defeat to Slovakia, where two goals were overturned – one for offside and another for a preceding handball by Loïs Openda. VAR also nullified a goal for offside in Belgium’s 2-0 victory over Romania, where Lukaku is yet to register a valid goal in the tournament.
Despite these challenges, Doku highlighted Lukaku’s resilient spirit. “He would have liked to have the goals because, now when he scores, I think he’s scared to celebrate,” Doku commented.
“He didn’t have a lot of luck, but he’s happy. He’s happy because we won our last game,” Doku added. “Of course, as a striker, he always wants to score and of course you think of your individual stats, it’s normal. But he’s happy with the impact that he’s having on our team and the chances he’s creating.”
Looking ahead to Belgium’s upcoming match against Ukraine in Group E, where all teams are tied with three points each, Doku emphasized the team’s focus on winning. “The pressure is there, but we just want to win the game,” Doku stated. “Even if we had already six points we’d want to win the game. Now there’s a little more tension of course, but that’s what we like.”
Belgium will face Ukraine in their final group-stage encounter on Wednesday.
