Risking everything to avoid France in the round of 16. Or rather delay and ensure the essentials with a qualification in the eighth. Faced with this dilemma, Belgium ended up choosing option number 2. So, during the last minutes of their match against Ukraine (0-0) this Wednesday evening, they risked nothing. But really nothing. To the point of seeing Kevin De Bruyne play a two-man corner in added time, just to save a little time. Mission accomplished, qualification bagged. Problem, it was under the whistles of its own supporters.
“I’m surprised, because it was really important for us to qualify“reacted the Belgian coach Domenico Tedesco, questioned about these whistles at a press conference. “We really tried everything to win, so I can’t be disappointed. (…) It’s a big surprise… it’s not like I took out Doku to bring in a defender“.
We can compete with any team
“We can compete with any team. It is for these types of matches that we qualified for this competition” he added about the round of 16 against France. Minimalist and endangered at the end of the match by the Ukrainians who tried to prolong their “fairy tale” until the end, the Red Devils finished second of their group behind Romania.
“In the group, we did not understand the whistles of the supportersdeclared Yannick Carrasco in front of the RTBF cameras. If we had conceded (a goal) at the end of the match, then I would have understood the criticism. They would have been right. We sometimes forget where Belgium was a few years ago. Now, we always qualify for the big tournaments. We go through to the last 16… Of course, we would have liked to finish first too. But this tournament is not easy. From the 75th minute, the important thing was not to concede a goal and to qualify“.
“If I take the corner and we go a goal behind, everyone will kill me”
A scene also left its mark after the meeting. Having left to applaud his supporters, Kevin De Bruyne ended up turning around in front of the bronca which rose with his steps. Visibly upset, the Manchester City leader ordered his teammates to return to the center of the field then head towards the locker room, without thanking the supporters present. “We tried to win the match. (…) Until the 90th minute we tried to find solutions, Yannick (Carrasco) made two shots, Ukraine had a good chance, maybe two, so we had to not take any risks“, said the Manchester City player. “I can understand that people want us to win and finish first, but for example if I take the corner and we go a goal behind, everyone will kill me. Sometimes you have to be smart”, he detailed. De Bruyne reiterated that the Red Devils will have “need“of their fans against France in the round of 16, without knowing”what to add“.
“It’s a big disappointment what happened at the end of the meetingregretted Tedesco to RTBF. The team didn’t deserve that in my opinion. The players gave everything, they trained very hard. Supporters can react however they want. We have to accept it, but it’s a shame. We need them. The end of the meeting? It was game management. We just didn’t want to cash in. If the opposing goalkeeper manages to get the ball back, we might have conceded a goal. I brought in wingers for wingers, it’s not as if we took out a midfielder to bring in a defender. On the other hand, we would have been stupid, at the end of the match, to attack with six or seven players.”
“Do I have a message for the supporters? We need them, he replied by way of conclusion and a national appeal. It was a big surprise to live this moment (…) We couldn’t fail. The players tried everything. The qualification is the most important thing.” And to hell with the rest.
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