Some statements by De Bruyne criticizing the age of the players fuel the discord in the Belgian team
Belgium, the eternal candidate of late, was bursting at the seams against Morocco, who supported them 2-0. The fuse for this delayed detonation of the fuse was actually lit much earlier, in an interview Kevin de Bruyne gave to British newspaper ‘The Guardian’ before leaving Qatar, but published on November 26. Talking a bit about everything, De Bruyne confessed to the journalist that he did not believe Belgium would win the World Cup: “We have a good team, but it is getting old. We’ve lost some key players. New players are coming, but they are not at the level of others who were in 2018. The words of De Bruyne (31 years old) fell like weed seeds in the Belgian dressing room and suddenly the atmosphere became unbreathable. Roberto Martínez, the coach, tried to turn off the fire extinguisher and apologized for his student’s statements: “When you play at a World Cup, there are players who have to talk to the media a lot. 90 percent of what they will say will be positive, although sometimes a line or two is taken out of context. But we have a very healthy environment.”
That environment is no longer so healthy and the defeat against Morocco has made the air rarer in concentration. Jan Vertonghen, the central defender (35 years old), fired with a shot after the defeat against Morocco: “We didn’t create any chances. We may attack badly because we are too old. Vertonghen reacted not only to De Bruyne, but also to Eden Hazard (31), who had acknowledged that the team’s centre-backs were not “among the fastest in the world”. Surprisingly, Vertonghen and Hazard were due to appear before the press at Belgian headquarters today, but the Federation decided that it would be Courtois and not Vertonghen who would answer the journalists. The newspaper ‘Le Soir’ reveals today that the dressing room has been split into several parts: Courtois no longer speaks with De Bruyne and Lukaku also has no words with Batshuayi.
Belgium will play the qualification against Croatia on Thursday, another team that hastens the last days of a golden generation. It will be an exciting duel of old men.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
