Romelu Lukaku had to pull apart Kevin De Bruyne and Jan Vertonghen as the Belgium pair came to blows after their World Cup defeat, as per reports.
The European nation arrived in Qatar looking to justify their 'Golden Generation' tag after a semi-final appearance in Russia four years earlier. A shock defeat to Morocco on Sunday though has cast doubt over their qualification hopes and led to major cracks within the group.
De Bruyne made comments about the age of the side, which Vertonghen himself then responded to, before the two players and Eden Hazard clashed in the dressing room with Lukaku having to act as peacemaker, according to RTL Sport.
Belgium must now beat Croatia in their final group game or face an embarrassing early exit which would almost certainly spell the end of this squad's hopes and the tenure of current boss Roberto Martinez. De Bruyne has been the figure head of a talented group that has been unable to deliver in major tournaments.
They've threatened to justify their quality at recent World Cups and Euros, but with many of their leading lights now into their 30s this tournament in Qatar represented arguably their last chance of success.
Their age profile has been the crux of the fallout since their loss to the African nation at the weekend. De Bruyne claimed his nation were "outsiders" to win the tournament in Qatar, insisting they are now over the hill. “No chance, we’re too old. I think our chance was 2018," he told the Guardian.
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"We have a good team, but it is ageing. We lost some key players. We have some good new players coming, but they are not at the level other players were in 2018. I see us more as outsiders.”
Vertonghen didn't take kindly to De Bruyne's comments, which he used to mock the Manchester City star's influence in the final third. "I guess we attack badly because we are also too old up front," claimed the former Tottenham man.
Martinez confessed his surprise at De Bruyne's assessment, insisting it was counter productive. He said: "This is the first time I’ve heard those comments from Kevin. At a World Cup, the players have to speak to the media every day, 90% of it will be positive but there are always one or two lines that don’t fit into the context. A player is allowed to air their view. We’ve been together for six years now and comments won’t help us to win. Maybe it was a double-bluff. It’s what happens behind the scenes that matters."
