DOHA — Belgium coach Roberto Martinez seems puzzled as to why his side have been so poor in their opening two matches of the World Cup, but put Sunday’s surprise 2-0 loss to Morocco down to a fear of losing and not enough quality in their attack.
Belgium stumbled past Canada 1-0 in their Group F opener and were below par again as they slipped to defeat against a spirited Moroccan side roared on by the majority of the 43,000 fans in the Al Thumama Stadium, a result that has put their qualification for the next stage in doubt.
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Talisman Kevin De Bruyne had a poor game again and captain Eden Hazard was largely ineffective. Both are players the team usually relies on heavily but Martinez refused to blame individuals.
“We haven’t been the best Belgium at this World Cup yet,” he admitted. “Today I thought we played with the fear of losing. Without the ball we still work for each other but when we have the ball, we don’t stand out, we are not ourselves. We have to work on that.
“We have to stay together now and become stronger. I know this group, we will be ready for Croatia (on Thursday).”
The first goal scored by Romain Saiss slipped in at goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois’s near post, a collective error in defending a set-piece, but Martinez said that did not point to a lack of organization.
“We didn’t take advantage of our good moments in the first half and that first goal from Morocco determined the rest of the game,” he said.
“We have been defending those standard situations in the same way for six years (since he has been in charge). If the ball is kicked well, those are very difficult balls for a keeper.
“After the goal, the game changed radically and we were not careful enough with the ball to hurt Morocco.”
Experienced defender Jan Vertonghen felt the side lacked attacking cohesion, though he also hit out at suggestions in the media that too many of the ‘Golden Generation’ were past their prime.
“There’s so much going through my mind right now, things I shouldn’t say. I don’t think we created any chances. Where did it go wrong? We probably also attack badly because we are too old, that must be it now, surely?” he said sarcastically.
“We have a lot of quality up front but so does Morocco and they came out better today. This is very frustrating.” (Reporting by Nick Said; editing by Clare Fallon)
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