Following a 2-0 defeat to French side yesterday in Lyon, De Bruyne hits out at teammates and coach Domenico Tedesco's tactical failures in a heated TV interview. Manchester City forward refused to comment on speculations of retirement, after only a week ago confirming plans to stay playing for his national team until the World Cup 2026.
"If the standard we want to reach is the best, but we're no longer good enough to get to that level." De Bruyne told VTM.
France Claimed a Convincing Win Over the Belgian side
Even without the presence of star striker Killian Mbappe until the 67th minute, Didier Descamps led team looked to redeem their form after a disastrous 3-1 loss to Italy previously in the competition. PSG teammates, Kolo Muani and Dembele, both scored for their French side with Kolo Muani celebrating his sixth goal for his national team.
France looked dominant the whole game with Belgium players looking without direction on the pitch. France had nine shots on target in the game, overshadowing four from their opponents with an early Belgian close chance with the shot only finding the post.
Tedesco Responds to De Bruyne's Frustrations
Tedesco became coach of the Belgian national team in the lead up to Euro 2024, where they were eliminated in the Round of 16 following a narrow 1-0 loss to France. His highly defensive tactics seemed to be put under pressure by France's high line and flow with De Bruyne criticising this approach saying there were "too many at the back."
Under coach Guardiola at Manchester City, De Bruyne can play in many positions as a central or attacking midfielder and as a second striker. Manchester City are very successful at playing the possession-based football with short passes up the pitch to create goal scoring opportunities. This heavily contrasts the style of Tedesco who plays a lower line.
Responding to the De Bruyne's heated words, Tedesco defended his player saying he has the "mentality of a winner,"
"He is emotional and disappointed," the Belgian coach added about De Bruyne "that is why sometimes you can say this."
With Belgium's next game in the competition against Italy, who previously beat France in their opening game of the Nations League, we may seem a change from the defensive 4-3-3 line-up seen in the game in Lyon.
Belgium's Former Glory
The Belgian national team is no longer the side it was a decade ago with major players, Hazard and Kompany, now both retired from football and Vertonghen retired from international football. Former Chelsea striker Lukaku is still their top scorer but was not available for this competition having just made a move to Napoli in the recent transfer window.
De Bruyne has seen his national side change dramatically over the years and said “I can accept that we are not that good. I am also the first to say that in the past. But other things are unacceptable. I am not going to dwell on it. I did that when I was eighteen at Racing Genk. Now I am 33 and I don't do that anymore.”
De Bruyne and Lukaku are now the only players left on the Belgian team that are linked to their height in international football, but now there is doubt over De Bruyne's future for this side.
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