Host Belgium Tops Sweden in Opener

The European Championships opened Saturday with a big victory for one of the host nations and late outbreak of violence.

Belgium beat Sweden, 2-1, to mark the start of the 16-team soccer tournament. The game was played before King Albert of Belgium and Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and a crowd of 50,000 at King Baudouin Stadium.

Well after the game, police fired tear gas, launched baton charges and arrested dozens in central Brussels.

The Belgians, sharing the role of tournament host with the Netherlands, got goals from Bart Goor and Emile Mpenza and survived a blunder by goalkeeper Filip de Wilde in the day’s only game.

“It made victory all the sweeter,” de Wilde said.

Goor scored two minutes before halftime. He pushed and shoved to retrieve the ball, then beat goalie Magnus Hedman with a low, thunderous shot from 10 yards.

“In the end, we got the victory with our spirit,” Goor said. “The goals could not have come at a better time.”

Seconds after halftime, Mpenza took a pass from Branko Strupar and struck with a shot high into the net. The goal meant that within four minutes on the clock, Sweden yielded more goals than during its entire qualifying campaign.

De Wilde’s botched play came in the 53rd minute. He failed to control a simple back pass, allowing Johan Mjallby to steal the ball and walk it into the net.

“If someone ever saw the world collapsing, well, that was it,” de Wilde said. “But it was good that I was able to turn the switch back on immediately.”