Kevin de Bruyne Urges Belgium to “Be Better in Every Way” After France Defeat

Kevin de Bruyne Urges Belgium to “Be Better in Every Way” After France Defeat in Nations League

Manchester City midfielder Kevin de Bruyne has called for improvement from Belgium, saying the team needs to “be better in every way” following their 2-0 defeat to France in the UEFA Nations League. De Bruyne, who had a charged exchange with his team-mates at half-time, later shared his frustration with Belgian broadcaster VTM, without elaborating on the specifics of the discussion.

Belgium, currently third in League A Group 2, are level on three points with France. De Bruyne acknowledged that the team is not as strong as it was in 2018, when they reached the World Cup semi-finals, but hinted at deeper issues: “Other things are unacceptable. I’m not going to say what.”

Belgium started their Nations League campaign with a 3-1 win over Israel, with De Bruyne scoring twice. However, after a promising start against France, Belgium fell behind to goals from Kolo Muani and Ousmane Dembele.

Speaking about his half-time team talk, De Bruyne, 33, said, “I cannot repeat that in the media, but it 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. If you don’t even do that, it’s over.”