It is safe to say that bad results have brought out the worst face of some of the best footballers in the world, and in this case, Kevin De Bruyne's words about the team's age and chances of winning the competition have not gone down well among some of his teammates.
Last week, De Bruyne admitted to the press that Belgium's chances of winning the title were quite slim, mainly because he felt the team was "too old" and that some of the team's younger players were not as great as the ones the team had four years ago, when the Red Devils finished third. His words had an echo within the dressing room, and one of his teammates did not hold back when issuing a response.
Earlier today, defender Jan Vertonghen decided to hit back at De Bruyne's words, stating that both the team's youngsters and the elders are to blame for the team's poor form, which has seen them get to the brink of elimination in Group F.
"I guess that if we are not attacking the right way it must mean that we have also grown to be too old up front," Vertonghen said.
The Anderlecht player kept on sharing his feelings about his teammate's words, and while he approved De Bruyne to share his views on certain issues, he asked him not to ventilate his feelings to the world prior to having a word with someone within the squad, such as the coach or even himself.
"There are also many things I'd like to share with the world, but those are things I shouldn't say away from the dressing room. We can't go around telling everyone about all the thougts we have," Vertonghen added.
De Bruyne's words came after the end of the match against Morocco, which Belgium lost two-nil on Sunday. Now, it seems that the team will have to heal its wounds from within before they can try to reach the next stage by beating Croatia.
