There is a lot of frustration in Belgium after another early exit from the tournament. The national coach in particular is being criticized, but he is probably allowed to continue. Captain De Bruyne is thinking about his future.
Düsseldorf (dpa) – The future of Domenico Tedesco as Belgium’s national coach is not up for debate, but the headwind for the 38-year-old is increasing after the round of 16 exit at the European Football Championship. Former Belgian national players in particular spoke out critically after the 0:1 defeat against France. “I doubt the future with Tedesco,” wrote Marc Degryse in “Het Laatste Nieuws”: “His decisions were too complicated, he didn’t keep it simple. But he didn’t score points in terms of his performance either.”
Former national coach René Vandereycken also ranted in “Het Nieuwsblad” about Tedesco’s selection of players for the European Championship: “The selection of Witsel and Meunier was wrong. And how many balls did Charles De Ketelaere hit in his five minutes?”
Separation from Tedesco unlikely
The former Bundesliga coach Tedesco’s contract with the Belgian association runs until the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada. According to media reports, the association has no intention of parting ways with the German-Italian. The players also held back with criticism. Only goalkeeper Koen Casteels noted that he may have chosen a somewhat “restrained” tactic.
Captain Kevin De Bruyne, meanwhile, said that the Belgian national coach was “not an issue”. “Of course I understand that people want to see us storm forward at full speed. But OK, that was the plan of the coach and the team. And I think we followed the plan pretty well,” said De Bruyne after the unfortunate exit in a weak game by both teams on Monday in Düsseldorf.
At the 2022 World Cup, Belgium had already failed in the preliminary round. After that, Roberto Martinez was eliminated as coach. World-class player De Bruyne in particular reacted with disappointment to the early exit.
The 33-year-old initially did not want to comment on his future in the national team. “I have to process this first,” said the Manchester City attacker, but let it be known that he is not yet thinking about looking back: “Nothing is changing for me. I just want to carry on as before. I am very happy with how I feel physically and mentally after the year of injury.”
Source: Stern
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