Kevin de Bruyne has revealed that his on-pitch row with Toby Alderweireld was directed at Belgium's style of play after they scraped past Canada on Wednesday evening.
Despite a dominant first-half performance from the North America side, Belgium took the lead against the run of play on the stroke of half-time when Michy Batshuayi fired home. It was an emphatic finish from the Fenerbahce man, who came into the starting XI for the injured Romelu Lukaku and took his chance with both hands.
However, Canada impressed throughout the game and could've felt hard done by after they squandered a number of opportunities. Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies missed a guilt-edge chance from the penalty spot, while Jonathan David and Junior Hoilett failed to take advantage of excellent opportunities.
It is safe to say Roberto Martinez's side were below-par at best, and De Bruyne vented his frustration with Alderweireld for their lack of control and how they performed against the Canadians. The Manchester City ace revealed that he was unhappy with his side's performance on the night.
"It was not good," De Bruyne told Sporza. "I thought we had the wrong way of building up in the first half, we didn't find the space while the space was there. We adjusted that during the break, after which it was slightly better. Although it was still not good enough as a team.
"That was also what my discussion with Alderweireld was about. I think there was more space than was seen and I thought we were looking for the long ball too much while there was room to get through.
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"Anyway, some discussion about the way of playing is no problem. We do know what needs to change. In the end, this [the performance] wasn’t the most important thing either.
"We weren't good enough, but the fighting spirit was good. That’s something we've always had, but also a minimum requirement. If it doesn't work, you can still win. We need to learn from this and also be realistic. It has to be better, including myself."
Surprisingly, De Bruyne, who admitted he wasn't at his best, was awarded as the Man of the Match for his efforts as Belgium started their World Cup campaign with a win. The 31-year-old revealed that it was possibly due to his "name" as De Bruyne was presented with the trophy after the game.
"I don't know why I got the trophy," he added. "Maybe it's because of my name or something. I just don't think we played well enough as a team, especially in the first half. When we started getting through their press there was more space. But I don't think we played a good game today, me included."
