Ranked second on this planet, Belgium prevailed 1-0 over Canada however had been vastly outplayed, and suffered an embarrassing 2-0 defeat to Morocco of their subsequent Group F match.

“The first two games were not as good as we hoped. We didn’t show everything we are capable of,” Castagne mentioned. “But we are not in crisis.”

Belgium will virtually definitely must beat Croatia on Thursday to advance to the final 16. A draw for Croatia will probably be sufficient to see them into the knockout, however Belgium will then be counting on Canada defeating Morocco by three objectives to face an opportunity to progress.

Belgian gamers have publicly admitted they had been dissatisfied with their displaying in Qatar and mentioned that frank phrases had been exchanged amongst them at a workforce assembly following their loss to Morocco on Sunday. The assembly sparked hypothesis of a rift on the workforce, which misplaced to eventual champions France within the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup.

“It was important to get things off our chests and share our views,” Castagne mentioned. “We also shared our ideas about how we can improve.”

Manager Roberto Martinez mentioned stress had gotten the very best of his gamers after they completed third in 2018. He mentioned they had been now targeted on having fun with their match and taking part in fearlessly towards the 2018 runners-up.

“There was no enjoyment. There was too much responsibility,” Martinez mentioned of his workforce’s first two matches. “Every player was fearful of losing. We are not expected to lose…Tomorrow there is no doubt. A draw and we are out.”