Belgium may have overtaken Canada in their opening World Cup group game, but Kevin De Bruyne was in no good spirits after the match.
Manchester City’s chief creator is one of the best in the world, but he and his teammates struggled a lot against the North Americans for the Group F game.
If it hadn’t been for an Alphonso Davies penalty saved by Thibaut Courtois and a few chaotic final moments, the World Cup novices might have been shocked.
Instead, Belgium, under manager Roberto Martinez, stumbled to a 1-0 victory at the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium in Qatar thanks to a goal from Michy Batshuayi.
At the end of the match, it was De Bruyne who received the man of the match award, but the player was unimpressed with the decision.
“I don’t think I played a great game,” said the Man City star. “I don’t know why I got the trophy, maybe it’s because of the name.
“I don’t think we played well enough as a team, especially in the first half. I don’t think we found a solution and we got off to a really bad start.
“The momentum was with Canada and we couldn’t find a way to break through their press.
“There was more space than we thought in the game and I think in the second half when we started to push through their midfield pressing, there was actually more space but I don’t think we played a good game today – myself included.
“We found a way to win and that’s it.”
Meanwhile, Canada boss John Herdman was delighted with his side despite the defeat, insisted the performance was proof they deserved to be at the top of football.
“They showed tonight that they belong here,” he said.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve been back, our fans were football fans, they really tried to own the stadium tonight.
“They (the fans) came away I’m sure proud and feeling like we were a footballing nation. We came into the game with a few goals, the first was to play without fear and the second was to entertain.
“We had other goals – to create firsts, but we never hit those moments. I think sometimes it was one too many rounds around the box. I’m not going to criticize them because when you shoot better than Belgium, I can’t complain too much.
“Sometimes it’s your night and sometimes it’s not. They made a commitment to themselves before going out tonight.
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