FIFA World Cup
The buildup to the match had been overshadowed by US striker Folarin Balogun's red card issue but head coach Garcia said he had not needed that to stir his players up, with Belgium cruising to a 4-1 win to set up a quarter-final against Spain.
"No, it wasn't at all necessary," said Garcia. "What really mattered to us was our game plan. We wanted to dominate the game, avoid their pressing and play higher up.
"We played with mastery, with willingness and dedication. It was a great night for us and a great qualification for the quarter-finals."
"We played with mastery, with willingness and dedication. It was a great night for us and a great qualification for the quarter-finals."
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Charles De Ketelaere scored twice, Hans Vanaken punished a goalkeeping howler, and substitute Romelu Lukaku added a fourth as Belgium finally showed the form that had been expected from them.
"We played with real grit," added Tielemans. "We wanted to get off to a good start - something we’d been missing earlier in the tournament. We knew that if we put them under pressure, they'd make mistakes."
"We played with real grit," added Tielemans. "We wanted to get off to a good start - something we’d been missing earlier in the tournament. We knew that if we put them under pressure, they'd make mistakes."
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"We told (our players) about what was happening. The group is very mature. We have leaders to help us go through that. I told them that mattered the most was us."
Sources: AFP, FIFA via Getty Images
Sources: AFP, FIFA via Getty Images
