The golden generation? We are only Belgium, Italians, French and Spaniards have a bigger selection of top players, De Bruyne surprised

Belgium is full of top players. Its national team is one of the best in the world. It’s just waiting to win a trophy. But it’s not happening yet. Why not? Star Kevin De Bruyne has a surprising opinion.

On Sunday, Belgium took on Italy for third place in the Nations League. But they were no match for the reigning European champions, losing 2-1.

Belgium had to do without Romelu Lukaku or Eden Hazard, but there was no question of a weak team.

“With all due respect, playing against Estonia is not the same as playing against Italy. But these challenges are important for us to grow as individuals but also as a team.”

“With all due respect, we are just Belgium. We have to be realistic about the team we have at our disposal. Italy, France and Spain have 22 top players to choose from, we don’t,” added the Manchester City star, surprisingly.

De Bruyne has earned no small amount of criticism on social media for that statement. Many football fans see it as disrespect and lack of respect for his teammates.

Belgium have been among the dark horses or big favourites to win the trophy at every major tournament since 2014. However, only once has it progressed further than the quarter-finals. It finished the 2018 World Championship in third place.

Source: HLN, Goal