“It’s over” – Kevin De Bruyne hits out at Belgium teammates’ performance in France defeat

Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne has launched an attack on his fellow Belgium international teammates for their performances in the defeat to France this week.

De Bruyne’s latest international commitments started in style last week, with the Manchester City vice-captain’s individual performance inspiring his nation to a dominant 3-1 victory over Israel in the Nations League.

The attacking midfielder scored twice in the win, with one effort coming from the penalty spot, and whilst having the chance to record an international hat-trick for the Belgian Red Devils, De Bruyne handed the opportunity of a second penalty to Lois Openda – who failed to convert.

The second of De Bruyne and Belgium’s contests would not go as smoothly, having largely been dominated by France in a 2-0 win for the hosts at the Groupama Academy Stadium, with the French recording 25 shots to Belgium’s 9 efforts.

De Bruyne was far from satisfied with his side’s performance in the defeat, and did not hide from showing his anger towards the collective showing by his teammates when speaking to the media after the contest.

Speaking to Belgium VTM television, as translated by ESPN, Kevin De Bruyne was keen to insist on the poor performance of his Belgian teammates during the 2-0 defeat to France in UEFA Nations League action, pointing towards “people who do not perform their tasks”.

“I can’t say here what went wrong. I already did that to the team at half-time. I cannot repeat that in the media, but it has to be better in every way,” De Bruyne said after the contest on Monday night.

“If the standard we want to reach is the best, but we’re no longer good enough to get to that level, then you have to give everything. If you don’t even do that, it’s over.”

Looking back on previous major tournaments, De Bruyne continued, “I can accept that we’re not as good as in 2018. I was the first to see that, but other things are unacceptable. I’m not going to say what.”

Whilst De Bruyne was hesitant to explain in detail what he felt went wrong for Belgum this week, the 33-year-old was able to shine some light on one tactical element of the performance as he said, “We are too many at the back.

“If you stay with six at the back, there is no connection. It is what it is. It is not about transition, but about people who do not perform their tasks.”

De Bruyne will now return to Manchester ahead of training ground duties alongside his Premier League champion teammates at the City Football Academy on Wednesday, ahead of a top-flight meeting with Brentford on Saturday afternoon.

Before leaving Belgium however, De Bruyne and his wife have attended a charity event by visiting the Ronald McDonald House in Brussels – which provides a home for families of hospitalised children.