‘Too old’ – Vertonghen bites back at De Bruyne & Hazard after Belgium’s shock defeat to Morocco

Jan Vertonghen has bitten back at Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard following accusations of Belgium’s team being too old and lacking pace in defence. 

​Golden Generation hasn’t deliveredMore struggles at Qatar 2022Still have a chance to reach last-16

WHAT HAPPENED? Roberto Martinez’s side are sweating on a place in the last 16 of the 2022 World Cup following a shock 2-0 defeat to Morocco, with the nation’s so-called ‘Golden Generation’ once again struggling to deliver on expectations. De Bruyne has said that is because Belgium’s best players are “too old” and the whole squad is “ageing”, while national team captain Hazard said before a meeting with Morocco: “Our defenders are not the fastest and they know that.”

WHAT THEY SAID: Vertonghen, who forms part of that defence, has told reporters after seeing the Red Devils draw a blank and fail to keep a clean sheet in their latest outing at Qatar 2022: “I guess we attack badly because we are also too old up front. We didn’t create enough chances. We conceded the same goal twice at the near post.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Belgium boss Martinez has also been quizzed on pre-match comments that ultimately did his side few favours as they came unstuck against impressive African opponents: “This is the first time I’ve heard those comments from Kevin. At a World Cup, the players have to speak to the media every day, 90% of it will be positive but there are always one or two lines that don’t fit into the context. 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.”

IN THREE PHOTOS:

WHAT NEXT? Belgium now need a positive result in their final Group F fixture against Croatia in order to make the knockout stages, with that crucial clash set to take place on Thursday.

 

 

Related Post
Share
Published by
Superadmin2015

Recent Posts

“Never expected a very easy run” – Gautam Gambhir reflects on his tenure as coach after IND vs NZ 2024 Test series defeat

India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir has admitted that he never expected a very easy run… Read More

October 31, 2024

Probably has a lot to do with playing on flat wickets in T20 – Gautam Gambhir on decline of good defensive technique in Test cricket

India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir feels T20 cricket has led to the downfall of a… Read More

October 31, 2024

India needs Mumbai Test win before Australia tour – Gautam Gambhir

Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir feels the Rohit Sharma-led team desperately needs to win the… Read More

October 31, 2024

I cannot say just the batters have let us down – Gautam Gambhir feels everyone should take responsibility for series loss against New Zealand

India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir refused to blame the batters after the team’s 2-0 series… Read More

October 31, 2024

It was insane – Bronny James after scoring his first NBA bucket

Los Angeles Lakers rookie Bronny James was on cloud nine after he managed to score… Read More

October 31, 2024

I’m happy with my team’s performance: Mohun Bagan SG head coach Jose Molina after win against Hyderabad FC

Mohun Bagan Super Giant head coach Jose Molina was delighted with the team’s performance after… Read More

October 31, 2024