Disappointed. Kevin De Bruyne (33 years old), Belgium captain, turned on some of his teammates after his team’s defeat against France (2-0), Monday in Lyon during the second day of the Nations League. Already beaten by the Blues in the last 16 of the last Euro (1-0), the Red Devils relapsed without really fighting, in the mind of the Manchester City midfielder. And he does not accept this lack of commitment against an opponent that he recognizes as superior.
“When you’re not good enough for the top, you have to give it your all and I haven’t even seen that”
“Yes, France is stronger than us,” he told the Belgian press. “We were six behind. Even in the second half, when we were behind, there was no transition. But it’s not just the transition that wasn’t good, but also the way we played. Some players didn’t do their jobs. Period.”
Asked about his team’s areas for improvement, the former Wolfsburg and Werder Bremen player was once again very scathing. “I really can’t say that in front of your microphone,” he responded on VTM. “I said out loud what I thought about Genk when I was 18, but I don’t do that anymore at 33. I spoke my truths in the dressing room at half-time. When you’re not good enough for the top, you have to give your all and I didn’t even see that. I can accept that we’re not as good as we were in 2018 – I’m the first to have said that – but I can’t tolerate the way we played tonight.”
Tedesco does not fear his international retirement
Belgium coach Domenico Tedesco understands his leader’s anger. “He probably feels disappointment, a lot of disappointment,” said the Italian-German coach. “He’s a boy who always has a lot of emotions. It’s normal to feel negative feelings in these kinds of situations. We had a lot of things under control, we had to score. We had three good chances. It’s a problem we’ve been working on for a long time. If you want to bring something back, you have to score a goal when you dominate the start of the game like that. Do I fear that he’ll announce his international retirement? No. We don’t talk about that kind of thing. He feels a lot of emotions, it’s human.”
- RMC Sport
