In the quarter-final against France, Domenico Tedesco came up with a completely different plan. Something we had never seen before: willingly giving the ball away so we could play with two strikers. It didn’t end well. Kevin De Bruyne had his say afterwards.
The plan was clear: wait and hope the outbreak would spread quickly. It wasn’t to everyone’s taste. “I understand people want to see us go to the front, but that’s the plan the manager and the staff have put in place and we’ve followed it well,” De Bruyne said.
“You also know, of course, that if we follow this plan, they will have the ball. As a team we defended well. They of course had more shots on goal, but that was mainly from outside the box. So we didn’t have many big chances, we missed some, but not many.”
“The question was not to follow the ball. We followed that plan. It’s a pity we scored the goal. We didn’t have enough time to react.”
De Bruyne himself had to play alongside Onana and split the game from there. Perhaps not his best position. “I’ve played in many positions in my career and I’ve been asked to do a lot of things. I think I played my role well and helped the team by helping in defence.”
The future of the coach? If the association wants to do something different, that is their decision.
But when did that plan come from the national coach and was he involved in it? “The coach called me, Jan, Romelu and myself a few days before the game and explained the plan to us. We also had to help convince the rest of the team. That was all. We don’t make tactical decisions. He asked us more in advance, but that’s it.”
And what about the future of Domenico Tedesco? Because this was not what was hoped for. A lot was expected in terms of style of play and results. “In the end, I think the team is satisfied with the coach and the way we work. A lot has changed. If the federation wants to do something different, that is their decision. I have never heard of any discontent within the club.” The team. Because this is not a problem for me.”
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