Belgium barely deserved to get anything out of their World Cup opening match against Canada on Wednesday night, but they still got away with three points. That’s cool – things like that make football what it is. There are days when the best team doesn’t win. But when the worst performer on the pitch is treated with the Man of the Match award after the game – you really feel a line has to be drawn! Kevin De Bruyne is one of the best players in the world, but he was frankly terrible in the match against the Canucks. His passing, mobility, vision, everything that’s made him the player he is – was nowhere to be seen in Al-Rayyan.Maple Leafs stun the world with cutting-edge football but fall to super-experienced BelgiumMichy Batshuayi struck shortly before the break to give Belgium the undeserved lead, and the striker’s goal ultimately proved the winner in a game that saw Canada have 22 total shots on goal compared to Belgium’s nine. Consistently a central figure in Manchester City wins, De Bruyne was largely a peripheral presence but was handed the award as the best performer on the pitch.”I don’t think I played a great game. I don’t know why I got the trophy. Maybe it’s because of the name. We didn’t play well enough as a team, we didn’t find any solutions and we started really bad. In the second half, when we started to get through their pressing, there was more space, but I don’t think we played a good game today, me included, but at least we found a way to win.”Kevin De Bruyne was brutal last night!! “I don’t think I played a great game. I don’t know why I have got the Man of the match trophy. Maybe it’s because of the name” 🤣 pic.twitter.com/pC636TsyoN— Julien Laurens (@LaurensJulien) November 24, 2022 De Bruyne deserves a lot of credit for what he said. The guy was honest in a situation where most would just smile and nod.To put the Manchester City man’s performance in perspective, here’s what the reputable L’Equipe wrote about his performance – giving him a rating of 4/10 and calling him one of the flops.”We barely recognized him. His body language was full of weariness and annoyance – and not just body language. Since he had a heated exchange with coach Roberto Martinez and teammate Jan Vertonghen instead of celebrating Batshuayi’s goal. He made bad choices all night. However, he was a bit better late in the game when he managed to find spaces and more speed.”L’Equipe’s player ratings (©L’Equipe)Italian website Tutto Mercato gave De Bruyne a rating of 5.5 out of 10, writing that the midfielder was “little involved and subdued, decidedly far from those offered at Manchester City, apart from a few good moves. Much more is expected of him.”##NAJAVA_MECA_6833960##For the Belgian “Golden generation”, this tournament is probably the last chance to do something big. However, if they don’t improve on the performance they produced on Wednesday – they won’t be golden anymore. Their next match is the clash with Morocco on Sunday afternoon.
