Micah Richards has defended Kevin de Bruyne over comments he made about the Belgium national team, but insists he and his teammates must pull together if Belgium are to avoid World Cup elimination.
Belgium take on Croatia on Thursday knowing anything less than a win in their final World Cup group game will see them eliminated from the tournament. The Red Devils were fortunate to defeat Canada in their opening match, and put in another poor performance as they fell 2-0 to Morocco.
De Bruyne is the best of a golden generation of Belgian players, but even he has failed to rise to the occasion. The Manchester City midfielder sparked controversy last week, when the Guardian published an interview they conducted with him a few weeks before the World Cup.
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When asked if he thought Belgium could win the tournament, De Bruyne said: "No chance. We are too old."
Speaking on BBC Sport ahead of Belgium's crunch clash with Croatia, Richards sympathised with De Bruyne but admitted it wasn't the right thing to say.
"I think it would’ve been frustration, he’s been in the form of his life, he’s come here and Belgium aren’t in their groove," Richards said.
"He shouldn’t be hanging his teammates out like that but for Vertonghen to react like that is even worse, two wrongs don’t make a right. It was out of frustration, they need to get it right today."
Tensions were high following the Morocco loss, and things got worse when De Bruyne's comments were put to Belgium defender Jan Vertonghen.
"I guess we attack badly because we're too old up-front," Vertonghen said.
While reports of a post-match bust-up involving De Bruyne, Vertonghen and Eden Hazard were incorrect, there is no denying that things are pretty tense in the Belgium camp right now, and De Bruyne's comments probably didn't help matters.
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