Thibaut Courtois has said he does not want to go back to Chelsea having lost to England at the World Cup, while Eden Hazard insisted that Belgium are keen to top Group G to deal a psychological blow to their tournament rivals.
Belgium and England have both secured qualification for the round of 16 with a game to spare after beating Panama and Tunisia and both boast exactly the same goal difference, meaning the outcome of Thursday's match between the two in Kaliningrad will determine who finishes as group winners.
Belgium coach Roberto Martinez indicated he could heavily rotate his team for the game, but many of his squad play their club football in the Premier League, and Courtois is adamant that returning to England after the tournament having lost that game is not an appealing option to him.
"If you want to have that winning feeling, it's best to keep on winning," he said. "I don't want to go back to England in July with a losing feeling. I want to win. I think everyone feels that way."
Belgium have also impressed in putting eight goals past Panama and Tunisia while many other pre-tournament favourites have struggled to find their attacking rhythm in the group stage, but Courtois insisted that this does not make any difference to their overall chances.
"We haven't become favourites for the World Cup," he added. "Other teams are bigger than us. We're going to continue taking it match by match and take advantage of the game against England to prepare for the knockout stages where things can happen very quickly.
"Tunisia wanted to play football, and we know we're stronger in open games. If we play against defensive teams, we have more trouble and people immediately think our play is slower. Tunisia are a good side with technical quality, the desire to press high up the pitch and to play football. I have a lot of respect for that."
As both Germany and Brazil labour in their groups, it could be in the best interests of Belgium and England to finish second in Group G and secure what appears on paper to be a more favourable knockout path -- but Hazard insisted that maintaining momentum and confidence must be the priority.
"It's important to finish top of the group, because -- psychologically -- it could have an influence on our opponent who says to themselves they're going to play against a team that was the best in its group," he said. "Up front, we're strong, so we should show that to create a little more doubt in our rivals."
Tottenham defender Toby Alderweireld added that while confidence is high in the Belgium camp, there is also plenty of respect for England's performances.
"England have improved a lot in the last couple of years," he said. "They have a very young talented squad. The pressure is a little bit gone but on the other hand you want to have a good feeling going into the next round.
"We want to have a good performance and keep a winning mentality and not drop our level. We will do everything we can to win that game."
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Belgium's Thibaut Courtois: I don't want to go back to Chelsea having lost to England"
Post a Comment