Although the Belgian national team has reached the round of 16 of the European Championship, the mood is bad. Coach Domenico Tedesco is at the centre of the excitement.
You would think that you would be in a great mood if you reached the round of 16 of a European Championship. But this year it doesn’t seem to be the case – as the English have proven enough and the Belgians have now shown again, disappointing once again.
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Or at least their fans. They responded to the dismal 0:0 draw against Ukraine at the end of the group phase with loud boos, whistles and thumbs down.
Because even this one point seemed rather lucky in the end. In the final minutes, brave Ukrainians had several great chances, but were unable to convert them into the golden goal. “After the defeat in the first game, it wasn’t easy,” said Tedesco, referring to the 0:1 defeat against Slovakia, and reacted quite matter-of-factly to the many angry Red Devils supporters: “The fans can be unhappy. But we need them.”
Tedesco harshly criticized for arrival
Tedesco did celebrate with a clenched fist towards the stands as he walked into the catacombs, after he had gathered his team together at the halfway line following the chorus of whistles and rallied them for the upcoming tasks. Nevertheless, the impression remained that the 38-year-old was a little irritated by the rather modest performances in the preliminary round – which was not least due to yesterday’s press conference that he held after the game. There he only criticized the journey, which he felt was far too slow.
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“I want to make one thing clear. The circumstances under which we arrived here are something I have never experienced before,” complained the former Bundesliga coach about the difficult situation at the Stuttgart Arena. “We arrived an hour before kick-off. Our police escort drove 20 km/h. There were no blue lights. The road was completely clear. It still took us over an hour to get from the team hotel.” That was “unbelievable,” said the noticeably annoyed Tedesco, who was therefore unable to give a proper speech.
Admittedly, since the German-Italian took over the Belgian national team in 2023 in a difficult situation, he has had a basically invigorating effect. His predecessor Roberto Martínez was considered a failure at the time because he never won a title for a golden generation of stars such as Eden Hazard, Vincent Kompany and Dries Mertens, so a change was needed – and that is working purely in terms of results. Of the 17 international matches that Tedesco has been on the sidelines so far, they have only lost one.
Tedesco? “Not a good coach for Belgium”
Since then, Belgium has beaten Germany, then still under Hansi Flick, as well as Austria with Ralf Rangnick. The Red Devils at least managed a draw against England, which is why the association extended Tedesco’s contract until 2026 before the start of the European Championship. But after the unexpected opening defeat against Slovakia, he had to endure a lot of criticism – not least from Peter Trossard, father of Belgium and Arsenal star Leandro Trossard, who spoke to the Belgian newspaper The morning spoke up.
“I don’t think Tedesco is a good coach for Belgium,” said Trossard’s father, as his son started on the bench against Romania and was later substituted – albeit on the right wing and not on the left wing as he is used to. Peter Trossard therefore added: “Even if he is not quite as stubborn as Roberto Martínez before him, Leandro is criticised, but he has been pushed from one position to the next. That way you can’t get any structure into his game.”
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Tedesco’s good knockout record
In the round of 16, Belgium now faces a tough challenge in the form of the French team. There are certainly easier tasks to keep the discussions to a minimum and correct the resulting discontent. On the other hand, Tedesco has proven during his time at the club that if there is one thing he is, it is a talented coach for knockout competitions. In 2018, he led Schalke to the semi-finals of the DFB Cup. In 2020, he did the same with Spartak Moscow. And with RB Leipzig, he even won the DFB Cup in 2022.
But if the eternal dark horse should actually have to throw in the towel against France on Monday – although coach Didier Deschamps’ team is admittedly not yet shining – the uproar in Belgium would be predictably great.
Tedesco would probably be confronted with a phrase that already preoccupied him at Schalke or in Leipzig: started well, then became too defensive and then slacked off considerably.
