The Diablotins won in the Czech Republic (1-1), and therefore missed their qualification for Euro U21 2025. Gill Swerts was very disappointed, but also highlighted a big refereeing error.
The Espoirs concluded the terrible international truce of Belgian football by eliminating the works of the Czech Republic in the play-offs for the Euro U21. “The disappointment is enormous because the objective was not achieved. The manner is very disappointing, above all, because if you look at the two matches together, they were the better team”, whispered Gill Swerts after the meeting.
However, a very nice goal from Steuckers had put the Espoirs back on track. Then, Belgium most likely should have been awarded a penalty. “The way the referee refused us this penalty is very difficult to swallow, especially for the boys who will no longer be in U21 afterwards,” regrets Swerts.
“It’s a 100% penalty. You keep zero at the break, you score… then there’s this penalty which could have put you at 0-2 and who knows what could have happened”, continues the Espoirs coach. “It’s time for the match. We can’t blame the players, the intensity was there, and at 0-1, we believed in it again, but the refereeing wasn’t with us this time.”
The Hopes will have, as often during this campaign, lacked efficiency. “There was a lack of efficiency up front. There was a lot of possession without creating any chances. At the back, we were sometimes able to create chances, but today we didn’t let much slip away… and let’s take this self-goal. That sums up our campaign.”
So what now? “Now? It’s goodbye for the boys of the 2022-2023 generation, already. As far as I’m concerned, we’ll see what happens regarding my contract. But we’re going to discuss it, and prepare for the future with the generation 2024-2025-2026”, summarizes Gill Swerts, of whom we wonder if he will still be in office for the following campaign.
