STUTTGART: Kevin De Bruyne made his way towards the Belgium fans behind the goal after the 0-0 draw with Ukraine had seen the team through to the last 16. Then, he appeared to changed his mind as the fans whistled and booed the team.
The Manchester City playmaker, however, refused to comment on the angry reaction of the Belgium fans, insisting that “we need them” ahead of a last-16 match with France.
Belgium missed the chance to finish top of Group E after having to settle for a point in Stuttgart, with De Bruyne seemingly instructing his teammates not to head over to applaud the supporters after the game.
“We need these fans, we need them against France,” said De Bruyne. “We just need them. I don’t know what else to say.
“We gave it our all during the three matches, everybody wanted to win the matches. We tried to do this but we didn’t manage to do so,” he added.
Knowing a point was enough to send them through, albeit as runners-up behind Romania, Belgium adopted a safety-first approach in the closing minutes, fearful of a Ukraine goal that would have knocked them out.
“I think until the 90th minute we tried to find solutions... afterwards I think Ukraine had a good chance, maybe two,” said De Bruyne.
“When it’s one minute from the end of the match you can’t take a risk. I understand people want us to win, but if I take the corner and they go down the other end and score people are going to kill me.” — AFP
