Belgium star Eden Hazard has been made to look very silly, with his comments ahead of his side's embarrassing defeat by Morocco coming back to bite him.
The former Chelsea and current Real Madrid star played just 60 minutes at the Al Thumama Stadium but it was an afternoon to forget. Roberto Martinez ’s men turned in another miserable showing - with goals from Abdelhamid Sabiri and Zakaria Aboukhlal earning a fantastic victory for the African side.
Before the match, Hazard made some intriguing comments about Germany’s protest against FIFA during their defeat to Japan earlier in the tournament. The entire starting XI put their hands over their mouths in an act of defiance over FIFA ’s decision to ban the OneLove armband s.
When asked what he thought of the action, Hazard joked that Die Mannschaft should have remained focus on their assignments on the pitch rather than off of it. Speaking to RMC Sport, he said: "I'm not comfortable talking about it because I'm here to play football first and foremost. I am not here to send a political message, people are better placed for that.
“I wanted to wear the armband but I didn't want to start the match with a yellow card, it would have been annoying for the rest of the tournament. To do it again, maybe I would have worn it.
“I liked it but *laughs* they lost in the end. We are here to play football. People are better placed for that [to make a political message].”
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Indeed, Hazard's comments about focusing on football have clearly backfired. The former Stamford Bridge looked off the pace as Belgium struggled against their opponents on Sunday and, ultimately, didn't deserve to get anything from the game.
Belgium now find themselves in a somewhat precarious position ahead of their final group game against 2018 finalists Croatia. They have to win to guarantee their place in the next round of the World Cup.
A point could be enough so long as Canada do not hold Morocco to a draw in their final match. Speaking after the full-time whistle at the Al Thumama, Belgium boss Martinez said: “It’s a difficult result because obviously the first goal affected a lot the outcome.
“It’s a dead ball situation. At that point, we couldn't get our game going. It’s a game that we need to understand that we need to be together and we need to react in the next game. That’s what happens in a World Cup.”
Whilst Belgium continued their underwhelming start to the tournament, the target of Hazard’s joke Germany have the opportunity to respond to their own poor opening result against Japan. The four-time winners take on Spain on Sunday evening in what is a crunch game regarding their hopes of progression.
Another defeat will not put them out of the tournament due to Costa Rica’s win over Japan earlier in the day but it will make their task of reaching the next round in their final group game even more difficult than it already is.
