Martinez stays so C-upbeat
ROBERTO MARTINEZ will create history if he leads Belgium to glory in Russia — by becoming the first manager to win both the World Cup and FA Cup.
The Spaniard lifted the world’s oldest domestic cup competition with Wigan in 2013.
And if Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne and Co can beat Japan on Monday, then he will stand just three games from achieving what has so far proved an elusive double.
Martinez, whose side beat England on Thursday to make it three wins from three in Group G, said: “The FA Cup is probably the closest to what you are going to get in a World Cup. There is no other domestic cup competition that has such a number of contrasting styles.
“And the margin of error is similar because in the FA Cup you can play games at non-league grounds and you have to get your team out of its comfort zone.
“When you go to a World Cup, it’s a different country, you need to adapt to going into stadiums you haven’t known before.
“There are many similarities. In both competitions you can go through periods where you are underdog, then you become favourite.
“There are times you have to find a way to be competitive and there can be no excuses, not the state of the pitch, not the opposition.”