Manchester City playmaker De Bruyne, who was named PFA Player of the Year earlier on Tuesday, helped Belgium to a 5-1 victory in which Michy Batshuayi scored twice.
De Bruyne missed Saturday's 2-0 win against Denmark to be at the birth of Suri, his third child with wife Michele.
De Bruyne was back on duty for his country as they made it six points from two games in Group A2, helping Belgium recover from shipping an early goal to Holmbert Fridjonsson.
Man of the match Batshuayi's double and goals from Axel Witsel, Dries Mertens and 18-year-old Jeremy Doku allowed Belgium to cruise to an ultimately impressive win behind closed doors in Brussels.
"It was a great night for us. I am happy to be back on the pitch," De Bruyne said, quoted on UEFA.com.
"I don't think my newborn daughter will have seen the game tonight, but I can't wait to be back with her and my wife and kids."
Speaking to Belgian broadcaster RTBF, De Bruyne said Belgium were given problems by the team that lost 1-0 to England on Saturday.
"Iceland played with a compact block. It was complicated to find the solution at the start of the match," he said.
"But that did not surprise me given the match this team played against England.
"It's good to win two matches in these conditions because not everyone has participated in the same number of training sessions before joining the squad. I think we played well at times."
Toby Alderweireld completed a century of Belgium appearances in a largely empty King Baudouin Stadium.
"A 100th game without an audience, it's a shame," said the Tottenham defender. "I would have liked my family to be there, but I'm happy to have reached this bar."
Iceland head coach Erik Hamren, quoted by UEFA.com, said: "We need to face the fact that they are a better team than us. We had neither the energy nor strength to defend for each other throughout the game."
And while his Belgium counterpart Roberto Martinez admitted the visitors made life "complicated" early on, the Spaniard added: "After this delicate moment, we managed to find a way to hurt them."
Winger Doku, 18, has established himself as a first-team fixture at Anderlecht over the past year, where Dimata, 22, has returned after missing the entirety of last season with knee damage by scoring two in the opening three Pro League games of 2020-21.
"Doku is an exceptional talent," Martinez said. "He brings something very important in modern football and that is his qualities in one-on-one situations.
"Dimata has a special profile. A number nine is a very important profile for us.
"Just that he has already played three matches can be important for us. We have always rated him highly and think this is a good time to include him in the group. "
Benteke has been a mainstay in Martinez's squads up until this point despite a dwindling goals return – he managed six over the course of the previous three Premier League seasons at Crystal Palace – while Batshuayi has struggled for opportunities at Chelsea, where the arrival of Timo Werner does little for his prospects.
"On Batshuayi and Benteke we have had direct contact with their clubs and it turned out that it was better that they did not travel and did not leave the training camp," Martinez said.
"It is not a football decision. Benteke is in our plans. Batshuayi had a difficult season, but has a lot of credit because of what he did before for the national team. "
Explaining his selections, Martinez suggested players competing in Belgium's domestic competition, such as three-times capped Anderlecht midfielder Yari Verschaeren, had been granted an advantage due to their season already being up and running.
"September will be a strange period," he said. "Some players are coming out of a rest period, so it is a good time to use players who have already gained rhythm.
"Especially for players with a great future. It will be a good experience for players like Doku and Verschaeren."
Thomas Vermaelen was not named in the 29-man group, but Martinez explained the Vissel Kobe defender would be added if his travel from Japan could be cleared.
Belgium travel to face Denmark on September 5 before hosting Iceland three days later in Group A2, which also features England.
Belgium squad:
Koen Casteels (Wolfsburg), Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid), Simon Mignolet (Club Brugge), Hendrik van Crombrugge (Anderlecht); Toby Alderweireld (Tottenham), Dedryck Boyata (Hertha Berlin), Elias Cobbaut (Anderlecht), Jason Denayer (Lyon), Leander Dendoncker (Wolves), Brandon Mechele (Club Brugge), Jan Vertonghen (Benfica), Timothy Castagne (Atalanta), Thomas Meunier (Borussia Dortmund); Yannick Carrasco (Atletico Madrid), Nacer Chadli (Monaco), Thorgan Hazard (Borussia Dortmund), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Dennis Praet (Leicester City), Youri Tielemans (Leicester City), Hans Vanaken (Club Brugge), Axel Witsel (Borussia Dortmund), Eden Hazard (Real Madrid), Yari Verschaeren (Anderlecht); Dries Mertens (Napoli), Divock Origi (Liverpool), Jeremy Doku (Anderlecht), Landry Dimata (Anderlecht), Romelu Lukaku (Inter), Leandro Trossard (Brighton and Hove Albion).
Low will step down as Germany boss after this year's European Championships after the German Football Association (DFB) agreed to his request to leave the position early.
His contract originally ran to the 2022 World Cup but Low will instead depart after the rescheduled Euro 2020 tournament which starts in June this year.
The 61-year-old has been at the helm since 2006 when he replaced Jurgen Klinsmann and guided his country to World Cup success in 2014.
Speaking at a media conference on Wednesday ahead of World Cup qualifiers with Iceland, Romania and North Macedonia, Low quashed talk of a job in Spanish football.
"I was thinking about it a little while ago. But this hasn't anything to do with a club," Low said.
"You could use Spanish in the whole world. In South America, Europe and the USA you could always use it. After English, it is a very important language.
"I like the language and wanted to learn it at some point. Maybe I will have the chance to deepen that in the future. But that hasn't anything to do with a Spanish club, it is a useful language to know, though."
Low has taken charge of 189 games for Germany and overseen 120 wins, 38 draws and 31 defeats with a win percentage of 63.49.
The build-up to the Thursday's clash with Iceland in Duisburg has been dominated by talk of who will succeed Low, but midfielder Emre Can insisted the players have not been distracted.
"I think for us players it's almost irrelevant. It's more a topic for the media," Can said.
"Football players are always under pressure when we play for the national team and participate at tournaments. It doesn't matter if there is debate around the coach or not.
"The coach has made his decision and for sure he is highly motivated for the European Championships, obviously we want to play a successful European Championships for his farewell."
Hansi Flick, who won a remarkable sextuple in his first year as Bayern Munich's head coach, has been mooted as the DFB's preferred successor to Low.
The 56-year-old was Low's assistant coach for almost eight years, from August 2006 to July 2014, leaving his role after Germany's World Cup triumph.
Bayern have been the form side in Europe in Flick's time in charge, and despite a shock exit in the DFB-Pokal earlier this season, are still well in the hunt for a Bundesliga and Champions League double.
However, Bayern and Germany midfielder Joshua Kimmich does not expect his club boss to instead become his national team manager.
"Hansi Flick has a contract and we are incredibly successful here," Kimmich told Bild. "That's why I do not assume that he will."
Harry Kane had an early goal incorrectly ruled out but it soon became a tale of frustration for England against the side who famously humiliated them against the odds at Euro 2016.
Kyle Walker's red card teed up the prospect of another ignominious outcome, but Sterling won a spot kick in the final minute when Sverrir Ingason – who, like Walker received a second booking – handled his shot following a right-wing corner.
The Manchester City forward rolled his effort home before a further stoppage-time sting in the tail.
Joe Gomez clumsily fouled substitute Holmbert Fridjonsson in the box, although Birkir Bjarnason opted for a contrasting approach to Sterling's and blazed woefully high and wide.
Gareth Southgate's side laboured for long periods against the nation who famously humiliated the Three Lions at Euro 2016.
Kyle Walker's 70th-minute red card further complicated matters but Sverrir Ingason joined the Manchester City full-back in receiving his marching orders when he handled Sterling's shot in the final minute.
With Harry Kane having been replaced by debutant Mason Greenwood, the responsibility fell to Sterling, who stroked his spot-kick down the centre of the goal.
"As soon as I got the ball I said 'straight down the middle'," he told Sky Sports. "It's the 90th minute, I knew the keeper wouldn't stand straight in the middle, so I was quite confident."
England then almost instantly threw away their hard-earned gains, with Joe Gomez clumsily impeding substitute Holmbert Fridjonsson in the box.
Birkir Bjarnason stepped up but blazed woefully off target, providing a somewhat fitting conclusion to what was often a slightly disorientating contest.
"We knew it would be difficult and we had to challenge ourselves, find something deep within," Sterling said. "We said if there's any setbacks in the game – we didn't expect the red card – we kept playing our football.
"We kept trying to probe, we kept trying to create chances, we kept compact. We got the penalty in the end.
"We shouldn't have conceded that sloppy penalty, but we got lucky at the end."
Sterling's club team-mate Phil Foden made his international debut in the starting XI and he feels the playmaker's breakthrough, along with that of Greenwood, points towards a bright future.
"Phil, Mason – he's a player I've been excited by and I'm glad to be playing with," the 25-year-old added.
"Phil is a player who gets on the ball, one or two touches, and he's sharp. It's a bright future ahead. We just need to keep growing as a team and each camp we can see that's happening."
Southgate's men return to action against Denmark in Group A2 on Tuesday.
With Harry Kane off the field, Sterling won and converted a 91st-minute penalty to secure a 1-0 Nations League victory in Reykjavik but there was a further twist in the tale.
Joe Gomez fouled substitute Holmbert Fridjonsson under a long ball in the England box, giving Iceland a chance to level deeper into stoppage time, only for Birkir Bjarnason to blaze wildly off target.
Both sides were down to 10 men by that point, with Kyle Walker and Sverrir Ingason having seen red.
While Ingason's second booking came when he handled Sterling's goal-bound shot in the decisive moment of the match, Walker departed 20 minutes from time for a rash tackle on Arnor Ingvi Traustason when he was already on a yellow card.
"The sending off is a key moment because I felt we were in even more control in the second half," Southgate told Sky Sports when giving an honest assessment of England's ultimately successful bid for a measure of revenge against the nation who humiliatingly knocked them out of Euro 2016.
"It's very difficult to win games of football at any level if you're down to 10 men. That's a lesson we have to learn, it was an unnecessary red card.
"Then the response was great, we managed to stay in good possession of the ball, looked a threat.
"We get the penalty and I thought Raheem's desire through that period and drive was outstanding. It was great that he took that penalty under pressure.
"And then another lesson we have to learn because to invite the ball as we did and defend it the way that we did was really poor play. In the end we get away with it.
"It kind of sums the week up. We've had so many challenges, it's been so difficult to piece everything together."
Walker did not feature for England last season and, in a frank interview with Sky after the game, he conceded he had done his long-term international future no favours following an incident for which he took full responsibility.
"He said the same in the dressing room," Southgate said. "He realises, as an experienced player, those sort of challenges invite the opportunity for the referee to make a decision and it was the right decision.
"I've no complaints in terms of the officials on the penalties or the red cards.
"We've talked a lot over the years about discipline. In tournaments especially, if you go down to 10 men, then the number of times we've gone out of tournaments because of that has proved critical.
"It's not something we want to see again."
Walker will be suspended when England continue their Nations League Group A3 campaign in Denmark on Tuesday.
Their victory, alongside a 3-1 defeat for Turkiye away to Montenegro, means that Craig Bellamy's side topped their group by a point.
"The feeling hasn't quite sunk in yet, but it's been a real positive camp Whatever the result of this game, it's just been a positive camp," said Bellamy after the match.
"The targets we set right from the start, I feel we've been able to achieve."
Wales started the day knowing they needed to win and for results to go their way to top the group, but went a goal down after seven minutes after Andri Gudjohnsen followed up from a Danny Ward save.
It was the first goal Wales had conceded at home in 321 minutes and the first time they had been behind under Bellamy, but they responded well. The hosts managed to control the rest of the half, with Lewis Cullen scoring twice in the final 15 minutes of the first period.
The determination of his team to stick to the plan was something that pleased Bellamy immensely.
"There were one or two tests today that I feel we've been able to progress [through]. If they had happened one or two games ago, we might not have been able to.
"Where we're at, you go 1-0 down in the first few minutes and you get a performance like that.
"Then after that, when the crowd get a little bit edgy and try to force things for us... No, no. We keep the ball because we believe that's going to benefit us, and the players were able to do that."
In the second half, Wales were able to dominate and bagged goals from Brennan Johnson and Harry Wilson to make things more comfortable.
"I thought we took control of the tempo of the game and we're a good team if we're able to do that," said Bellamy.
On promotion itself, the Wales manager could not overstate the importance of being able to mix with the biggest teams in international football in Europe.
"For where we want to be and where we want to go, it's huge. It's so important for us," he said.
Bellamy's reign began with a positive return of four points from Nations League matches against Turkiye and Montenegro, but they suffered their first major setback under him on Friday.
Brennan Johnson and Harry Wilson scored to give Wales a 2-0 half-time lead at Laugardalsvollur, only for Logi Tomasson's strike and Danny Ward's own goal to earn Iceland a point.
Despite Iceland registering the most shots they have ever recorded in a Nations League match (20), Bellamy was not too disheartened by the result.
"It was good, I enjoyed it. It was what I expected to be honest, I said going out second half that this would be tough," Bellamy told S4C.
"We'll benefit so much from that 45 minutes, it's so good for us. In the long run this will be beneficial.
"Obviously to be 2-0 up and draw is disappointing, but it was a pleasing performance. It was about me learning about the players and them learning from us.
"It's never good to concede, I don't like it, we'll look at it again. I felt momentum played a big part. It's about us understanding when to take the sting out the game, which will come.
"Overall, I'm pleased with the performance, we've had two yellows which will mean a change on Monday, but it's predictable due to different styles of refereeing. It is what it is."
Despite a frustrating second half, Bellamy is the first manager in Wales' history to go unbeaten through his first three competitive games at the helm, with one win and two draws.
The Three Lions overcame their Euro 2016 tormentors when a turgid affair exploded into stoppage-time drama – Raheem Sterling winning and converting a 91st-minute penalty as Sverrir Ingason joined Walker in receiving his marching orders before Birkir Bjarnason missed a subsequent spot-kick for the hosts.
England's increasingly laboured attempts to secure victory before that point were thrown into flux when Walker, already booked, launched into a rash challenge on Arnor Ingvi Traustason with 20 minutes remaining.
A mainstay of England's run to the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup, Walker did not feature for his country last season.
In that context and considering competition from the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kieran Trippier and the as-yet uncapped Aaron Wan-Bissaka, the 30-year-old Manchester City defender acknowledges his error could come with significant ramifications.
"To get sent off for your country is never a nice moment, especially after being out of the team for so long," Walker told Sky Sports.
"I have to take full blame. I'm an experienced player and I should know when I'm on a yellow card not to make a rash challenge like that.
"It's unacceptable from me.
"[Wanting to impress] possibly plays a big part in it but I don't want to blame that. I'm a seasoned professional and I've played a lot of games.
"So I should know how to manage a game if I'm on a yellow card. I put myself in a situation I shouldn't have been in. I think you have to say fair play to the lads for digging in and fighting and getting the win we desperately wanted."
Walker's City team-mate Phil Foden made his England debut with an assured showing in midfield, while Manchester United teenager Mason Greenwood came off the bench for a first senior cap – underlining the ever-evolving options at Southgate's disposal.
"It's brilliant for English football," Walker said. "Throughout the age groups they've gone and won things.
"Phil was involved in the [2017] World Cup win for the under-20. They're proving it at club level for big clubs.
"The world's their oyster. Obviously I know Phil - and Mason seems to be a very good player. He's sharp and can finish so I wish them all the best."
He added: "That's the sad thing about being a footballer. It does come to an end sometimes and I'm probably near the end on my international career
"I still feel very energetic, I feel like I've got a lot in the legs. Hopefully I will be back. It hurts."
