LYON, France, Sept 9 (Askume) – Belgium captain Kevin De Bruyne launched a scathing attack on his team-mates after Belgium lost 2-0 to France in the Nations League on Monday.
It is not the first time De Bruyne looked frustrated during a Group A2 match and he later told Belgian TV station VTM that there were a number of problems during the game.
He said, “I can’t say what was wrong. I did that to the team at half time.”
“I can’t repeat it in the media, but it has to be better in every aspect. If the standard we want to reach is the best and we’re not good enough to get there, you have to give your all.
“I can admit our performance wasn’t as good as in 2018,” De Bruyne, 33, said of the side that reached the World Cup semi-finals in Russia.
“I noticed it first, but anything other than that is unacceptable. I won’t say anything.”
But during the interview he pointed out a problem. “We’re too far back. If you sit in the back with six people, there’s no connection. That’s just the way it is. That’s not change, these people aren’t doing their job. That’s the way we do it.”
Head coach Domenico Tedesco said he understood De Bruyne’s anger.
“He is our captain and has a strong winning mentality, so he can react emotionally as well.”
Belgium started the match strongly but soon succumbed to the superior position of France, who bounced back from defeat to Italy in Paris last week to win comfortably.
