Belgium suffered a 0-1 defeat to France in stoppage time on Monday at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels. Substitute Michael Olise broke Belgian hearts in the 88th minute with a fine piece of skill.
Zinédine Zidane left Rayan Cherki, Michael Olise and Ousmane Dembélé on the bench. Kylian Mbappé was absent through injury. Mika Godts, who scored brilliantly against Italy, kept his place in the Belgian team.
Early on, Godts made his presence felt with his runs and relentless work rate. Van Bommel's team showed no fear, though they did ride their luck when Désiré Doué smashed the crossbar after an individual run. The game flowed from end to end in Brussels, with Romeo Lavia also clearing one off the line.
There were no goals before the break, but it was an entertaining contest between the neighbouring countries. Van Bommel's side carried far less threat after the restart. Dembélé came on for the visitors after 67 minutes.
Then came a flashpoint when Dodi Lukebakio got himself into a promising position, only for goalkeeper Mike Maignan to deny the substitute. Soon after, Godts fired into the side netting after a solo run. Van Bommel again urged his team on for the final quarter of an hour, while Cherki and Olise entered for the closing stages.
As the game opened up late on, both countries pushed for a winner. Lavia then went off to warm applause from the Belgian crowd. The fans clearly appreciated the way France were being kept under control.
That still was not enough to save Belgium from defeat. The introduced Olise set off on a solo run from the halfway line before finding the left-hand corner. The release of emotion was huge for Zidane, who had seen his team beat Turkey 0-1 on Friday.