Belgium recently secured a decisive 5-1 victory over New Zealand, claiming the top position in Group G and setting themselves up for a potentially favorable draw in the last 32. However, coach Rudi Garcia appeared visibly annoyed during the post-match press conference. Addressing the first inquiry, he adjusted his microphone to emphasize his response.
“I really didn’t appreciate them being called has beens,” he remarked, referring to an article in La Libre, a French-language Belgian newspaper, which compared Kevin De Bruyne to a faded Hollywood star following a lackluster performance against Iran in their previous match.
Garcia praised his squad, highlighting the contributions of his “When a nation has players of that calibre, you support them,” — De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, Thibaut Courtois, and Leandro Trossard, the latter of whom scored twice against New Zealand. Trossard’s first goal marked Belgium’s initial score at this tournament after 45 attempts, which included an own goal against Egypt and over 200 minutes of struggle.
The goal followed a moment of chaotic defending, with Chris Wood and Tim Payne unintentionally marking each other closely, allowing Trossard to score. De Bruyne found the net as well, while Lukaku made an immediate impact by scoring just 56 seconds after entering the game, and Charles De Ketelaere rounded out the scoring. Despite this emphatic win, questions remain about Belgium’s confidence and the implications for Garcia moving forward.
At a press conference on Tuesday, just before their match against Senegal, Garcia seemed reluctant to address whether the dominant win had alleviated pressure, instead turning the questions toward De Ketelaere, who sat beside him.
“Are you under pressure? Has the game against New Zealand changed anything?” Garcia posed to De Ketelaere. The topic of early exits for teams like Germany and the Netherlands arose, with De Ketelaere noting, “Yesterday [Monday] showed us that to be favourites or not doesn’t matter,” Garcia joined in, responding with a smile, “We wanted to end first in the group and this is what we did,”
Belgium’s performance thus far has left them vulnerable to potential upsets. Nevertheless, it’s essential to remember they have not lost in the last 16 months, with their previous defeat being a 3-1 loss to Ukraine, which also marked Garcia’s inaugural game in charge. Although their recent form has been inconsistent until the rout of New Zealand, this unbeaten streak cannot be overlooked.
The squad appears to be in good shape, with Jérémy Doku, De Ketelaere, and Lukaku all improving in fitness, while Zeno Debast is finally available for his first minutes of the tournament following a leg injury. Should Belgium advance, they may face the USA in the last 16. Earlier this year, Belgium triumphed over Mauricio Pochettino’s team in a friendly, winning 5-2, and they were undefeated in qualifying, amassing 29 goals, including two matches where they scored six and a 7-0 victory against Liechtenstein.
Does this latest significant win signify the beginning of a more serious World Cup campaign? “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.” Garcia stated. “It’s not a big advantage,”
This recent victory also allowed Belgium to remain in Seattle, where they have been training for the past three weeks at the Seattle Sounders’ facility in the city’s suburbs.
“I was following young players and I told Robert: ‘You should have a look at this young Senegalese player,’” Garcia commented, acknowledging the challenge Senegal poses, currently ranked 18th in the FIFA standings, just eight places below Belgium. He noted a personal connection with Senegal’s head coach, Pape Thiaw, from their days at Saint-Étienne, where Garcia served as an assistant coach.
“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.”
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