September 10th 2024.
Following Belgium's defeat to France in the Nations League, Kevin De Bruyne couldn't hide his disappointment. In a moment of exasperation, he was overheard expressing his desire to quit the national team. He also didn't hold back in criticizing his teammates for not giving their all on the field.
The match, which took place at Parc Olympique Lyonnais, saw France emerge victorious with a score of 2-0. After a recent loss to Italy, Didier Deschamps' team was determined to bounce back, and they did just that. Despite enjoying more possession, Belgium struggled to create chances and only managed four shots on target throughout the 90 minutes.
As the clock wound down, De Bruyne, who had captained Belgium to victory over Israel just a few days prior, became increasingly frustrated. After the final whistle, he let his emotions get the best of him and spoke out about his disappointment. This was not the first time Belgium had lost to France, as they had also been defeated by Les Blues in the round-of-16 clash at Euro 2016.
According to HLN, De Bruyne told Belgium's sports director, Franky Vercauteren, that he wanted to quit after the match. Vercauteren tried to console him, but the six-time Premier League winner simply shook his head and walked away. He then exchanged a few words with Kylian Mbappe, who he had been in discussion with earlier.
In a post-match interview with Belgian outlet VTM, De Bruyne remained visibly upset with the team's lackluster performance. When asked if France was the better team, he replied bluntly, "Yes, that's right. There's not much to say about it." He also expressed frustration with the team's tactics and some players not doing their job.
De Bruyne refused to dwell on the defeat and did not want to repeat what he had said to his teammates at halftime to the media. He also implied that some players may not have met the minimum standard required to represent Belgium.
"It has to be better in every way. The standard is the top. If you can't handle the top, you're not good enough. And then you have to give everything on the field. Even that is not done by some," he said.
Despite his disappointment, De Bruyne acknowledged that he had also made mistakes in the past and said he wouldn't dwell on them. He also mentioned that he had not yet spoken to manager Domenico Tedesco but would do so in the future. Tedesco, on the other hand, encouraged De Bruyne to cool down before speaking to the media and praised his winning mentality and emotional reaction. He also reminded everyone that emotions run high after a match and that they should let them cool down before making any statements.
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