Belgium’s veteran Kevin de Bruyne has urged the fans to back their team for the round of 16 clash against France after a goalless draw against Ukraine in Stuttgart. The team was booed by their fans after they failed to score.
The Red Devils had 12 shots, out of four were on target. Belgium also had 60% possession but could not grab their opportunities, which frustrated their fans. With this draw, Belgium secured their place in the next round as they finished second in Group E.
“We tried to win the match,” De Bruyne said in a postmatch news conference. “We had goal-scoring opportunities, but we didn’t take any risks with the corner because we knew we might concede a goal.
“If that happens, you’re out of the Euros. It’s a shame we didn’t manage to score before — we had opportunities — and after that we just need the fans to stay with us.
“We need these fans. We’ll need them against France. That’s all I have to say.”
After the match, the Belgium captain urged his players to leave the pitch without giving gratitude to the fans.
“We just need them,” he said. “I don’t know what else to say. We just need the fans. We’ll need them against France. We needed them in the last three games. That’s it.”
Belgium coach Domenico Tedesco concurred with De Bruyne and said his players were trying their best to get a positive result.
“Well of course we are a bit surprised [by the boos],” he said. “We wanted to qualify, and we have qualified.
“We lost the first game and played fantastically against Romania and the fans were really happy then. Today was a really tough game, but the message was clear: We want to play to win.
“The players tried everything. We could have scored more at the beginning, but if the fans are whistling, we have to accept it.”
Belgium will face France at the Merkur Spiel Arena on Monday in the round of 16.
