Belgium-algeria: quotes

Marc Wilmots, Belgium coach
The game was too slow in the first half, and we just weren’t able to find a way past a team that refused to play football. The substitutions I made injected a bit of pace, which changed the game after the break. The players seemed like beaten men in the dressing room, but I told them that I was sure that we would score eventually. The points are in the bag – we’ve still got a long way to go, but we showed our strength of character.

Vahid Halilhodzic, Algeria coach
I’m left with the disappointing feeling of having come close to achieving something great. We suffered a lot in the second half, allowing Belgium to impose themselves physically. The different level of experience was a key factor towards the end. The match came down to little things, really, as well as the talent of our opponents. Marouane Fellaini’s goal was a case in point, as he’s one of the world’s best headers of a ball. We weren’t far away from pulling off an upset. I’d talked about how effective the Belgians are at counter-attacking, and unfortunately that was confirmed on the pitch.

Kevin De Bruyne, Budweiser Man of the Match
I wasn’t happy with my first-half performance. Algeria played as a well-organised unit, but I improved my passing and we were able to get the upper hand in the second half. Despite that, I don’t think I deserve to be named Man of the Match. We had to be patient against a team like Algeria, and I never doubted that we could turn the match around.

Article: FIFA.COM

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