Recently, the news of the infighting in the Belgian team has spread wildly, and the "team newspaper" revealed that De Bruyne, Vertonghen and Eden Hazard had a fierce quarrel after the second round. However, according to Belgian media outlet Nieuwsblad, rumours of infighting have been denied within the Belgian team.
After the game, Vertonghen said in an interview: "I have too many things in my head that shouldn't be said, or at least not fit to say outside the dressing room. Moments later, the Anderlecht defender added: "We didn't create anything. Our bad offensive performance could be because we're too old, right? That's probably it. ”
Everyone immediately wondered if Vettonhen was targeting Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne, with Eden Hazard publicly stating the day before the match: "We don't have the fastest defenders in the world, but they know it. Manchester City star De Bruyne also told reporters that Belgium "may be too old" to win the World Cup, which makes the atmosphere in the team very tense.
According to Team Newspaper, this is indeed the case. According to French newspapers, Vertonghen then went to the dressing room, where he expressed his strong dissatisfaction and frustration with the Belgian captain's letter. The defender reportedly added: "Something like this cannot be said outside the dressing room" and stressed that he himself has been protecting all players, even if they are not in the team or perform poorly.
Eden Hazard, De Bruyne and Vertonghen clashed fiercely, followed by clashes and-for-tat. Eventually, it was Romelu Lukaku who stepped in and put an end to the chaos.
But when the Belgian media conducted an investigation within the Belgian national team, the Belgian team denied it. A Belgian insider even said: "It's. ”
At an event on Monday, Martinez and executives called a crisis meeting to reconcile opinions, according to Team Newspaper. The national team coach is in daily contact with sports psychologist Jeff Bruis. Martinez only indicated to the media that there had been a meeting and did not give further details.
In any case, Belgium's match against Croatia has already suffered a lot.