Belgium captain Kevin De Bruyne said his side had “played well” despite struggling to trouble France on their way to being ousted from Uefa Euro 2024 courtesy of Jan Vertonghen’s 85th-minute own goal.
Randal Kolo Muani’s strike on the turn was deflected past goalkeeper Koen Casteels by veteran defender Vertonghen’s knee, sending Belgium out of the tournament with a second defeat in four matches.
“It’s a shame to concede a goal like that,” De Bruyne told RTBF, via Lavenir. “It’s a shame. The plan was there. We played well.
“We knew they were strong and that they would create chances. It’s a shame to concede a goal like that. The team had defended well collectively. We tried to win and we were five minutes from extra time.”
📰 Table Of Contents
De Bruyne: Belgium ‘had moments’
De Bruyne tested Bleus goalkeeper Mike Maignan with strikes but Belgium finished a forgettable campaign with an expected goals (xG) tally of 0.23 to France’s 1.02.
An assured 2-0 win over Romania in their second game was their only promising performance, arriving in between a surprise opening defeat to Slovakia and a 0-0 draw with Ukraine which drew boos from Belgium supporters.
The Belgian FA has backed head coach Domenico Tedesco during the tournament but the Italian-German’s contract is coming to a close and his case for continuing is not strong on the evidence of their displays.
Our #EURO2024 ends here. 😤 #FRABEL #WirSchaffenDas pic.twitter.com/OyIMr1ITiN
— Belgian Red Devils (@BelRedDevils) July 1, 2024
“The coach wanted to play forward in space,” said De Bruyne, who would not be drawn on his own international future at the age of 33.
“We found some solutions, although it’s difficult. We had a few moments, but that’s how it is in the end. We are disappointed to have lost but the will was there in all four matches.”
Euro 2024: Belgium out
Belgium have failed to score in five of their last six games at major tournaments despite having a combined 59 attempts on goal and posting an xG of 6.85 across those five goalless matches.
If you fancy a wager on the last 16 at Euro 2024, don’t forget to visit the Betano Free bets offer page to claim £30 free bets
No other side at the finals has failed to score in three of four matches, and they produced only five of the 24 attempts between the sides in their round of 16 match.
This was their first defeat in five last-16 matches at the World Cup and Euro tournaments, stretching back to a defeat to Brazil in 2002.
