WORLD CUP ’90 : One-Man Advantage Isn’t Enough for Uruguay : Group E: Playing with only 10 men in the second half proves to be no problem as Belgium wins, 3-1, to advance to the second round.

VERONA, Italy —  Captain Jan Ceulemans finished off an impressive night of offensive ingenuity with a goal while his team was down one man on Sunday, helping Belgium to a 3-1 victory over Uruguay and into the second round of the World Cup.

Defender Eric Gerets was ejected just before halftime. But Ceulemans stunned Uruguay with a 20-yard shot in the first minute of the second half. Lei Clijsters and Enzo Scifo had scored in the first half.

Uruguayan substitute Pablo Bengoechea scored in the 73rd minute when Belgium was momentarily playing with nine men because of an injury.

Scifo had his second strong game in a row to put Belgium among the top contenders for the championship. The Belgians have four points in Group E--they also beat South Korea, 2-0.

Led by Enzo Francescoli and Ruben Sosa, Uruguay mounted a steady attack against Belgium in the second half. But Belgium stayed back and packed its defense to limit the Uruguayans’ space.

“It fully deserved the win,” Uruguay Coach Oscar Tabarez said of Belgium. “They made no errors, we made a lot in defense.”

Uruguay meets South Korea in the final first-round match Thursday, while Belgium goes against Spain.

In the first half, Clijsters finished off a combination play with a powerful header to give Belgium the lead in the 14th minute. Ceulemans set up a give-and-go with Bruno Versavel and then sent Michel De Wolf deep on the left wing. The defender passed to the other side to a charging Clijsters.

The second goal was a solo effort by Scifo, who scored on a swerving right-footed drive of 30 yards.

“The early expulsion created lots of problems for us,” Belgian Coach Guy Thys said. “We had to go back massively in defense.”

Gerets had trouble containing Sosa all night and was given a yellow card in the 37th minute for an illegal tackle. Seven minutes and a few fouls later, Gerets again pulled down Sosa and was sent off.

But Ceulemans’ goal made it easy. Versavel beat three defenders on the left and crossed the ball to the center, where the captain was unguarded. He unleashed a hard shot past goalie Fernando Alvez.

Gerets will also miss Thursday’s match against Spain.