Kevin De Bruyne pulled no punches after Belgium lost to France in Monday’s UEFA Nations League contest. According to him, the team had to be better than what they showed against their opponents in the 2-0 defeat. Ousmane Dembele scored in the second half to wrap up a win for France after Randal Kolo Muani found the opening goal in the first half.
Belgium laboured throughout, managing just nine shots and delivering a wretched first-half showing that yielded just two efforts on target. A visibly disappointed De Bruyne refused to disclose details of his half-time team talk but pulling no punches on the team’s performance.
“I cannot say what went wrong, as I have already told the team at half-time,” De Bruyne explained. “We have to be better in every way. If we can’t reach the level we want, at least we need to give everything.”
Reflecting on how far Belgium has fallen from the team that reached the 2018 World Cup semi-finals, De Bruyne admitted to struggles. “I can accept we’re not as good as in 2018, but some things are unacceptable,” he added without expanding.
Belgium now lies third in Group A2, level with France on three points after two matches, and will have to bounce back quickly.
