Tomorrow at 16.00 the last day of Group F of the Qatar 2022 World Cup will take place, where the challenge between Belgium and Croatia stands out simultaneously with Canada and Morocco (with the North Americans already eliminated). In the retreat of the Flemish formation, however, the climate is anything but serene.
World Cup, the defeat against Morocco a powder keg for Belgium
Belgium’s 2-0 defeat by Morocco in the second round of the World Cup revived old disputes between several players in the national team’s dressing room. The performances of the Red Devils, until now, have been quite subdued, picking up a good victory against Canada, but with a performance to forget. For De Bruyne, interviewed by RTL, even with a possible next round: “We don’t have much chance of winning this world championship, we’re too old. We have lost key players, we are getting on with age. We can be simple outsiders”. Vertonghen also echoes him: “Many things go through my head that I shouldn’t say, or at least not outside the locker room. It was also very frustrating because it was the first real bad match, even though I think we’ll be fine. We have quality but we probably attacked badly also because we are old, right?”. From these words a real fight in the locker room would have arisen.
World Cup, problems in Belgium because of a woman?
According to L’Equipe, Vertonghen and Eden Hazard almost came to blows, separated by Romelu Lukaku who acted as peacemaker. But there is not only the controversy between the two aforementioned. The more angular case, in fact, is that between the goalkeeper Courtois and De Bruyne, both with a common past in the national youth teams and in the spring of Genk. Inseparable colleagues and friends until the publication of the biography of the Manchester City player, who revealed that in 2012 the then partner Caroline Lines she had cheated on him with Courtois. She confirmed the version (“Thibaut in one evening made me feel like it had never happened to me in the three years of the relationship with Kevin”) but justified herself: “De Bruyne had just cheated on me with my (ex) best friend. I didn’t want to say it, I only decided to speak after he wrote about my relationship with Courtois ”.
World Cup, Belgium coach: “Talk about football. Stop Fake News”
In presenting the match against Croatia, Belgium coach Roberto Martinez announced that Lukaku will be one of the protagonists of the match in the hunt for qualification for the round of 16 as first class. “He has a lot of influence in our team, especially in the last third of the pitch. With him we can play much more effectively. He makes the difference. He also has the character of a leader and influence in the locker room. It is important for us that he is there ”. Finally, the coach also wanted to express his opinion on the story described above, which he himself branded as fake news: “There is more desire to look for negative news than to support and unite the team. We must realize that we are alone here and do everything we can to achieve our goal. I don’t know where the history of France comes from. Whoever did it scored an own goal for Belgium. As a Belgian journalist, if I were you, I would rather support my country than undermine it.” Now the word passes to the field.
