De Bruyne tired, no communication Belgium boss claims

Belgium coach Marc Wilmots blamed a “breakdown in communication” for one goal and said playmaker Kevin De Bruyne was “perhaps tired” in their 2-0 defeat by Italy in Euro 2016 Group E on Monday.

Centre half Leonardo Bonucci split the Belgium defence with a pass into the penalty area from just inside his own half and man-of-the-match Emanuele Giaccherini supplied a ruthless finish to put Italy in front after 32 minutes.

“If you’re able to play an assist from 40 metres and you’ve got three centre backs there, there shouldn’t be any danger so there’s been a breakdown in communication which shouldn’t happen at the top level,” Wilmots told a news conference.

While praising the contributions of midfielder Marouane Fellaini and defender Thomas Vermaelen, he said striker Romelu Lukaku “didn’t have a particularly happy night and … De Bruyne could do better too”.

Pressed about the form of the Manchester City midfielder, Wilmots added: “If I had an explanation I’d give you one. Is the kid tired after a busy season? Yes, perhaps. He’s been training not quite at full pelt.

“(But) I think Kevin has given so much over the last four years for the national team, you shouldn’t expect me to slate him.”

After a spell at number one in the FIFA world rankings, Belgium went into Euro 2016 among the favourites. However, they find themselves bottom of the group after the other two teams, Ireland and Sweden, shared a 1-1 draw on Monday.

Wilmots’ men, now ranked second in the world, managed just two attempts on target and, for much of the game, were reduced to long-range efforts that flew wide or were charged down by a packed Italian defence, before the Azzurri broke away late on score a second through Graziano Pelle.

“We need to really club together for the next two matches,” added Wilmots, starting with Ireland on Saturday.

Defender Jan Vertonghen said: “We’re in a very difficult position now, there’s a lot of pressure on us. Most of all we need to make sure we take our chances.

“It hurts when you don’t. I’m sure we have a squad that can cope. We will be ready.”

-Fans bemused-

Italy fans were overjoyed after watching their side beat one of the pre-tournament favourites in Belgium, 2-0 on Monday night.

Emanuele Giaccherini gave the Italians the lead with a briliiantly crafted goal in the first half, before Graziano Pelle sealed the win in the dying stages.

Belgium fans were dejected after the match, with criticism aimed at striker Romelu Lukaku and head coach Marc Wilmots.

“I’m very disappointed. I think Marc Wilmots got it wrong, he took the wrong decisions in defence. Ok, in defence, there isn’t much to say, but during the match he can change it. [Kevin] De Bruyne did not have a good day and everyone can see it, he was missing a lot of passes and not playing collectively. Just make a change. Then you change [Radja] Nainggolan and Nainggolan was the only good player in the midfield for me.

I didn’t believe it [that Belgium were favourites] before, because I was believing we could get to the quarter-finals, then we’d lose again to Germany. But we will probably be second in the group and maybe we can get further so maybe it’s a good thing for us,” a Belgian fan said.