Belo Horizonte (Brazil): After a 12-year World Cup famine, success-starved Belgium are preparing to feast on their opponents, says midfielder Kevin De Bruyne.
The 22-year-old was named man of the match yesterday after helping Belgium come from a goal down to score a precious 2-1 victory over Algeria in Group H. De Bruyne, rescued from a miserable spell at Chelsea when he signed for VfL Wolfsburg in January, produced a dynamic second half performance as the Red Devils recovered from the shock of conceding a 25th-minute penalty by Sofiane Feghouli.
"We have a lot of expectations as do the supporters," he said.
"But every match is a tough one. We will take them one at a time. If we take three points against Russia then we will see after that. But we are hungry. I would even say we are famished..." he added.
Belgian manager Marc Wilmots, who caused some consternation among the players with his line-up and positioning, said his side needed to adapt to their relatively recent status of being considered outsiders for the title.
"Our opponents are scared of us and therefore they realign their tactics when they play us," said the 45-year-old, who has yet to lose a competitive match since he took over at the helm in 2012."
"We are maybe the fastest team in the world on the counter-attack -- as was clear in the lead-up to our second goal -- therefore our adversaries play very deep in order to try and deny us space."
"Russia (who the Belgians play on Sunday) will probably also defend really deep. I hope they don`t, but if it is the case, we will have to deal with it." Wilmots` substitutions in the second-half changed the game with two of them Marouane Fellaini and Dries Mertens getting on the scoresheet.
Wilmots was also delighted by the mental strength shown by his side. "The resilience and the mental strength they showed will stand them in good stead for the future," said Wilmots, who revealed he had written on the board in the dressing room prior to the match that the substitutes would make the difference.
Fellaini, who had a miserable debut season with Manchester United failing to score a single goal, said talk of Belgium being among the favourites should be disregarded. "We are not the favourites for the tournament," said the 26-year-old former Everton star."
"It s Brazil who are playing at home and who must win on that basis. The pressure is not on us."
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.