Kevin De Bruyne threatened to quit international football after Belgium’s limp 2-0 defeat by France in the Nations League on Tuesday night.
De Bruyne appeared to criticise his teammates’ work rate and the defensive tactics of manager Domenico Tedesco in fiery comments after the game, and reportedly told technical director Frank Vercauteren on the sideline: “I quit, I quit.”
The Manchester City playmaker failed to hide his frustration during the game, demonstrably throwing his hands up in despair and shaking his head.
After the match, the 33-year-old De Bruyne revealed that he was frank with his teammates at half-time and said Belgium’s performance “has to be better in every way”.
“If the standard we want to reach is the best, but we’re no longer good enough to get to that level, then you have to give everything,” De Bruyne told Belgian TV station VTM. “If you don’t even do that, it’s over.”
De Bruyne was a member of Belgium’s so-called golden generation that reached No 1 in the world rankings and were among the favourites at major tournaments, but they never made a final. The Belgians lost 1-0 to France in the World Cup semi-finals in 2018, and reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup in 2014 and the European Championships in 2016 and 2021.
Tedesco took over as coach ahead of Euro 2024, where Belgium again lost 1-0 to France in the round of 16, and already appears under pressure because of his negative tactics.
De Bruyne made reference to it in his emotional remarks on Monday, saying Belgium had “too many at the back” which prevented any connection between the forward players.
“I can accept that we’re not as good as in 2018,” De Bruyne said. “I was the first to see that, but other things are unacceptable. I’m not going to say what.”
Tedesco said De Bruyne “has a mentality of a winner” and didn’t criticise his captain for being outspoken.
“He is emotional and disappointed,” Tedesco said. “That’s why sometimes you can sometimes say this.”
Belgium have dropped to No 6 in the rankings, remaining high up mainly because of their impressive record in qualifying for major tournaments. Indeed, the team was unbeaten between the 2022 World Cup and Euro 2024.
However, a poor Nations League campaign could cost them a place among the top-seeded teams when the draw is made for qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.
And Belgium no longer have the star power of a decade ago when Eden Hazard, Vincent Kompany, Jan Vertonghen, Thibaut Courtois and Romelu Lukaku complemented De Bruyne, the assist king who has underpinned City’s recent trophy-laden era under Pep Guardiola.
Hazard and Kompany have retired, Vertonghen quit international football after Euro 2024 and Courtois isn’t currently part of the Belgium set-up after a clash with Tedesco. Lukaku, who is 31 and the all-time top scorer for Belgium, is still available but wasn’t involved in the recent Nations League games having only just moved to Napoli after being sidelined at Chelsea.
Along with Lukaku, De Bruyne is the last remaining link to the previous generation but might not be around for much longer, especially with injuries impacting his seasons in the last couple of years at City.
additional reporting by AP