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Belgium had just beaten New Zealand 5-1 to secure top spot in Group G and, at least in theory, an easier last-32 draw, but Rudi Garcia was evidently irked. In response to the first question in a curt post-match press conference, he adjusted the microphone to ensure his point was heard.
“I really didn’t appreciate them being called has beens,” he said alluding to an article in La Libre, a French-language Belgian newspaper, that compared Kevin De Bruyne with a washed-up Hollywood actor after a flat display against Iran in their previous match in Los Angeles.
“When a nation has players of that calibre, you support them,” Garcia added, praising the performances of his “four leaders” in De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, Thibaut Courtois and Leandro Trossard, who scored twice against New Zealand; Trossard’s opener represented the first goal Belgium scored themselves at the tournament (after an own goal against Egypt) at the 45th attempt after more than 200 minutes of labouring.
It came after some comical defending, Chris Wood and Tim Payne inadvertently marking each other touch-tight to allow Trossard to open the floodgates. De Bruyne got on the scoresheet, Lukaku headed in 56 seconds after stepping off the bench and Charles De Ketelaere applied the gloss. So, where is the feelgood factor and where does a comprehensive victory leave Garcia and Belgium?
On Tuesday, back at a press conference top table before Wednesday’s meeting with Senegal, Garcia seemed uninterested in answering questions about whether that trouncing has helped grease the wheels or, indeed, lightened the load, instead deferring to De Ketelaere, who was sitting alongside him.
“Are you under pressure? Has the game against New Zealand changed anything?” Garcia asked his player. Early exits for Germany and the Netherlands invariably came up, too. “Yesterday [Monday] showed us that to be favourites or not doesn’t matter,” De Ketelaere said. Then it was Garcia’s turn. “Le même chose,” he said with a smile.
The nature of Belgium’s tournament to date makes them feel susceptible to an upset but, amid the undercurrent of negativity, it is easy to forget it is 16 months since they last tasted defeat, a 3-1 loss to Ukraine. That also happened to be Garcia’s first game in the job and while they undoubtedly underwhelmed until eviscerating New Zealand, it is a record that must count for something.
Garcia also has a healthy squad, with the fitness of Jérémy Doku, De Ketelaere and Lukaku all improving and Zeno Debast available for his first minutes of the competition after a leg injury. If Belgium progress, they could face the USA in the last 16. In March this year, in a friendly in Atlanta, Belgium overpowered Mauricio Pochettino’s side, winning 5-2. They were unbeaten in qualifying, racking up 29 goals, recording back to back sixes, plus a 7-0 win against Liechtenstein.
Does their latest big win feel like the start of their World Cup in earnest? “We wanted to end first in the group and this is what we did,” Garcia said. “I wish we had won more games – all our games – but we are not going to go back to the past. What matters now is that we have progressed out of the group stage and we know that we are playing the strongest third-placed team: Senegal had a very tough group with France, Norway and Iraq and this is probably why they finished third, but it doesn’t matter because if you want to go far in a World Cup you have to defeat good and excellent teams: Senegal is here and we want to progress.”
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Victory last time out also allowed Belgium to remain in Seattle, where they have been based for the past three weeks, at Seattle Sounders’s training headquarters in the suburbs of the city.
“It’s not a big advantage,” said Garcia, who expects a tough challenge from Senegal, 18th in the Fifa rankings, eight places behind his side. Perhaps it helps that he knows Pape Thiaw, Senegal’s head coach, from his days at Saint-Étienne, where he assisted Robert Nouzaret and John Toshack.
“I was following young players and I told Robert: ‘You should have a look at this young Senegalese player,’” Garcia said. “It’s funny because I had forgotten about it but when we saw each other in December for the [World Cup] draw we hugged and he reminded me.
“But his career is something that he built – he was a wonderful player and now a wonderful coach. He’s a good man, a good person, but I’m going to defeat him, which is too bad for him … I’m looking forward to seeing him again.”
