Prior to Belgium's 2-0 loss to Morocco this afternoon, Kevin De Bruyne had played down his country's chances of World Cup success.
“I think our chance was in 2018," the midfielder said. "We have a good team, but it is aging. We lost some key players.
We have some good new players coming, but they are not at the level other players were in 2018. I see us more as outsiders.
Former Argentina and Man City defender Pablo Zabeleta was critical of De Bruyne for this attitude, and continued his criticism in the BBC studio in Qatar, after the loss to Morocco.
We spoke before the game about the mentality of that Belgian team. When you have some of your best players coming in and saying we have no chance this World Cup, the squad is to old. But it will affect the mentality of this group.
There's no passion, no fire.
Zabelata Proven Right About Kevin De Bruyne Comments
He was Morocco's star man! 🇲🇦 #BBCWorldCup #BBCFootball #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/194Kxntjlj
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) November 27, 2022
READ HERE: Eamon Dunphy & John Giles Question Kevin De Bruyne Attitude After Madrid Loss
Prior to the match, Zabaleta spoke of his concern for Belgium and the mentality shown by Kevin De Bruyne, and some of Belgium's other top players.
"It's really sad to see that group of players not fighting for their country
"My big concern about Belgium is the things players saying we’re not the team we used to be.
'That’s not the mentality you bring into the World Cup. They still have enough good players to win and beat anybody. If I’m one of the senior players here I’m fuming.
"Maybe they’re playing some mind games. They have two or three players who aren’t young but some of the rest of the team.'
"Compared to Croatia/Uruguay I don’t hear them complaining about the ageing squad. It’s not the quality. They still have good enough players but if you complain about all those things it’s going to be very difficult. It’s not the right mentality."
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