Belgium head coach Roberto Martinez says the weight of expectation on his players is hampering the squad's output at the World Cup, reasoning that this is why fans have not yet seen the best of Kevin De Bruyne.
The Manchester City maestro has cut a frustrated figure amid his country’s lacklustre performances in both of their group games so far. Belgium edged a 1-0 win over Canada despite a poor display but succumbed to a shock 2-0 defeat to Morocco on Sunday.
After the victory over Canada, De Bruyne said there was “no chance” Belgium would win the World Cup due to the squad being “too old”. Indeed just one of the starting XI against Morocco was under the age of 29 with Belgium’s squad being the fifth-oldest in the tournament behind Iran, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina.
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De Bruyne couldn’t prevent the side from falling to defeat on Sunday and Martinez explained why the playmaker had not yet shown the kind of form he does so regularly for City.
“We haven’t seen the best of Belgium yet,” he said. “We are not at our best. It’s not just Kevin, it’s the whole team. We didn’t play with freedom. Football is a team sport and when it works together the individual can reach a higher level.”
He admitted: “I don’t see us enjoying our football or playing with joy. We don’t play with joy and maybe that’s because of the weight we are carrying on our shoulders. We’ve played the last two games like we have something to lose. It’s not a lack of quality or the technical aspect.”
Responding to De Bruyne’s comments on the squad being “too old”, Martinez said: “This is the first time I’ve heard those comments.
"At a World Cup players have to speak to the media every day, 90 per cent of it will be positive but there are always one or two lines that don’t fit into the context.
“We are all professionals and we know how to perform. A player is allowed to air their view. We’ve been together for six years now and comments won’t help us to win. Maybe it was a double-bluff. It’s what happens behind the scenes that matters.”
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