Belgium coach Martinez laments lack of magic
Wednesday - July 11, 2018 7:12 pm ,
Category : SPORTS
Belgium coach Martinez laments lack of magic
St. Petersburg July 11 (IANS) Belgium head coach Roberto Martinez said he was proud of his footballers despite the narrow 0-1 defeat to France on Tuesday which saw them falter at the last hurdle before the World Cup final.
Samuel Umtiti s 51st minute header decided the game and France will play Sunday s final while Belgium will play in the game for third and fourth place on Saturday reports Xinhua news agency.
"I think today is a game that was very tight and there were not many big moments that were going to decide the game. I thought we were growing into the game when we conceded the goal from the corner. The difference between defeat and winning was down to one dead ball situation " said Martinez.
"That first goal was going to be vital. If we d scored France would have opened up but we didn t and it came down to a corner kick " he lamented.
Martinez said his side had given everything they had and had not suffered nerves in the game although he was sad their usual attacking football lacked a cutting edge.
"That little bit of composure in the final third that we usually have...we got into good situations but not scoring the first goal meant it was difficult " said the Belgium coach who credited the "the way France defended...we couldn t find that magic in front of goal".
"The focus of the group was to win the tournament so it s a sad dressing room and that makes me proud " he said insisting Belgium would "give everything" to try and finish third.
"You are disappointed because you have lost the semi-final but you need to regroup and recover and see another game as an opportunity. We have to understand it is an important game."
"Belgian football has a wealth of young talent coming through " said Martinez looking to the future.
--IANS pur/bg
Samuel Umtiti s 51st minute header decided the game and France will play Sunday s final while Belgium will play in the game for third and fourth place on Saturday reports Xinhua news agency.
"I think today is a game that was very tight and there were not many big moments that were going to decide the game. I thought we were growing into the game when we conceded the goal from the corner. The difference between defeat and winning was down to one dead ball situation " said Martinez.
"That first goal was going to be vital. If we d scored France would have opened up but we didn t and it came down to a corner kick " he lamented.
Martinez said his side had given everything they had and had not suffered nerves in the game although he was sad their usual attacking football lacked a cutting edge.
"That little bit of composure in the final third that we usually have...we got into good situations but not scoring the first goal meant it was difficult " said the Belgium coach who credited the "the way France defended...we couldn t find that magic in front of goal".
"The focus of the group was to win the tournament so it s a sad dressing room and that makes me proud " he said insisting Belgium would "give everything" to try and finish third.
"You are disappointed because you have lost the semi-final but you need to regroup and recover and see another game as an opportunity. We have to understand it is an important game."
"Belgian football has a wealth of young talent coming through " said Martinez looking to the future.
--IANS pur/bg
