There is heartbreak for Kevin De Bruyne as his Belgium have been eliminated from the World Cup but Manchester City fans do think his early exit will be a big benefit to the club.
City have 16 representatives in Qatar so the risk of one of their important first-team stars is high in such an intense schedule of high-stake matches. Thankfully, things have gone well so far with no injuries being suffered and Kyle Walker actually returning from his time on the sidelines after groin surgery with England.
Pep Guardiola's side will have a hectic run of matches when they return to action as they will be competing on four different fronts and will need all of their top players available. From that perspective, Belgium's early exit is great news for the Blues.
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The Red Devils went into their final group match against Croatia knowing that a win would be the only way to guarantee their passage into the next round, with a draw only good enough if Morroco lost to Canada. Instead, the African side were victorious and as Belgium could only must a goalless draw they finished third in Group F and were eliminated.
Romelu Lukaku missed four sitters after his introduction with the nadir coming in the 89th minute after he come how failed to stick the ball home with an open goal to aim at. But otherwise, Roberto Martinez' side were listless and lacked urgency. It has been a deserved elimination after they only just scrapped past a spirited Canada in their opening match and were then defeated by Morroco in the second.
Though obviously devasted, De Bruyne's departure from Qatar means he now has over two weeks to rest and recuperate before City are back in competition against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup on December 22. Though Blues supporters have sent their commiserations to their midfield maestro, they couldn't hide their delight at the fact he is now out of harm's way. Some have also bemoaned the fact that De Bruyne was let down by his teammates, especially Lukaku's poor finishing, and bet he can't wait to be playing with Erling Haaland again.
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