Roberto Martinez, the departing head coach of Belgium, expressed his “huge disappointment” following the Red Devils’ World Cup elimination.
The group’s third-place team, the second-ranked team in the world, was unexpectedly eliminated in Qatar after a scoreless draw with Croatia.
For the 2018 semifinalist Belgium, who struggled to defeat Canada in their first game before falling to eventual group winners Morocco, it marked the end of a disappointing tournament.
Martinez’s tenure as head coach of Belgium, which he held for six years, came to an end as a result of the Croatia tie.
“We were ourselves today,” he reflected. “We had very good performances and frustrated Croatia in the first half, but couldn’t take chances in the second half.
“We got in very good positions, but didn’t execute them well. Second half, we looked strong and probably created more clear-cut chances than in 2018.
“We showed heart, and we saw a group that really cares, which we missed in previous two games – we weren’t ourselves [in the first two games].
“Due to quality and experience, we won the first game [against Canada], but we were not ourselves. Today was completely different.
“Morocco was disappointing, and we’re out of the World Cup because margins are small – there’s no margin for error. Morocco took their chances and Croatia now rightly progress through. It’s a huge disappointment for us.”
Romelu Lukaku and Eden Hazard, who came on in the 87th minute at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, started Belgium’s crucial match on the bench, which Martinez also justified.
It followed a turbulent week in which he called reports of a rift within the camp “fake news” at his press conference prior to the game.
“Lukaku couldn’t play the 90. We saw in the second half, he lacked physicality,” Martinez said.
“We used him where there were bigger gaps and got him in the box. He moved well and got in good positions, but missed chances.
“I’m happy with the way we planned for this game. The players that started gave us what we wanted, and then we could have scored three goals in second half, and it would have been a different story.
“We were here for seven games and couldn’t take a risk on players, it would not have been responsible to play [Lukaku] from the start, same with Eden Hazard.”
The ageing of a so-called “golden generation” of players has received considerable attention in the wake of Belgium’s disappointing performance in Qatar. Kevin De Bruyne claimed the Red Devils’ team was “too old” prior to the finals.
Toby Alderweireld, a defender, insisted that the squad’s senior players have not yet made up their minds about their futures.
“I think as a team, you have to take the responsibility,” he added. “I think we played a very good game. We could have won.
“I think we lost the qualification in the last game against Morocco. If we didn’t lose this game, it was a total different game. This is the reality. It hurts.
“It’s not every year that there’s a tournament. We’ll see what everyone is doing, but I think it’s too close to the last game to decide.
“Everyone goes home now, goes to their club and decides what they’re going to do. This hurts, it’s normal, but decisions are not made after the game.”
