Martinez praise for Belgians
FOOTBALL: A third-place finish at the World Cup leaves a strong legacy for Belgian football, national team coach Roberto Martinez said.
“We set a real milestone and it is exactly what these players deserved,” he said after the 2-0 playoff win over England ensured Belgium’s best World Cup finish. “We wanted to win it. Obviously, when you beat Brazil and you get into the semi-finals, the focus has to be on trying to win the World Cup.
“But we also have to be realistic and when you look back at the tournament, these players made history back in Belgium, and that’s all that matters.”
Martinez said the team had gone one step further than the Belgian squad at the 1986 World Cup, who lost their playoff match to France and finished fourth.
“The generation of ‘86 in Mexico were always an inspiration and set a vision for all football in Belgium, and now this group of players have exceeded that, and that’s historic,” Martinez said.
England manager Gareth Southgate singled out defender John Stones for special praise and defended captain Harry Kane’s performance after the defeat.
“Today is the seventh game in a short period of time and we’ve had incredible physical and emotional demands on the least experienced team in the tournament,” Southgate said.
“It would be wrong to judge any player on today’s game, if their energy levels were short. He (Kane) has captained the team exceptionally well, he has led the culture we are trying to create.”
“I thought Stones was absolutely outstanding and (goalkeeper Jordan) Pickford has had a wonderful tournament.”
– Reuters