Belgium captain Kevin De Bruyne launched an angry tirade against his teammates after his side were beaten 2-0 away to France in their Nations League clash on Monday.
Not for the first time, De Bruyne was visibly frustrated during the match and afterwards told Belgian VTM television too many things had gone wrong in the game.
“I can’t say here what went wrong. I already did that to the team at half-time,” he said.
“I cannot repeat that in the media but it has to be better in every way.
“If the standard we want to reach is the best, but we’re no longer good enough to get to that level, then you have to give everything. If you don’t even do that, it’s over.
“I can accept that we’re not as good as in 2018,” the 33-year-old De Bruyne said of the side that reached the World Cup semi-finals in Russia in 2018.
“I was the first to see that, but other things are unacceptable. I’m not going to
say what.”
But pressed in the interview he did point out one problem. “We are too many at
the back. If you stay with six at the back, there is no connection. It is what it is. It is not about transition, but about people who do not perform their tasks.”
De Bruyne did, however, highlight what he feels is a weakness in Belgium’s style of play.
“If you stay with six at the back, there is no connection,” he added. “It is what it is.
“It is not about transition, but about people who do not perform their tasks.”
De Bruyne was a member of Belgium’s so-called ‘golden generation’ that got to
No. 1 in the Fifa rankings and was among the favourites at major tournaments, even if the team never got to a final.
The Belgians lost 1-0 to France in the World Cup semi-finals in 2018, and reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup in 2014 and the European Championships in 2016 and 2021.
Coach Domenico Tedesco said he understood De Bruyne’s anger.
“He is our captain and has a huge winning mentality, so he can also react emotionally.”
Belgium have dropped to No. 6 in the rankings, remaining high up mainly because of their impressive record in qualifying for major tournaments. Indeed, the team was unbeaten between the 2022 World Cup and Euro 2024.
However, a poor Nations League campaign could cost it a place among the top-seeded teams when the draw is made for qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.
