De Bruyne rejects claims of Belgium unrest

Kevin De Bruyne has dismissed suggestions of unrest in the Belgium camp following their 3-0 win over Republic of Ireland on Saturday.

Belgium were heavily criticised after losing their Euro 2016 opener 2-0 to Italy, with reports in the country suggesting a number of players were unhappy with head coach Marc Wilmots’ tactics.

De Bruyne, though, has made it clear there is no truth in such claims after they bounced back with a win over Ireland courtesy of Romelu Lukaku’s double and a header from Axel Witsel.

“Unrest in the team? You know how it goes in football. If you lose a game against Italy there is going to be criticism,” De Bruyne told RTE.

“But as a footballer if you don’t show it on the pitch you don’t get anywhere. We needed to [respond]. As a team we had to give a response to everybody who watched the game against Italy.

“The way we responded was good, everybody was up for the task and we really deserved this victory. 

“We know that we had two big games. We’ve only done half of that. We have to do the same against Sweden now.” 

Belgium moved to second place behind Group E winners Italy, with Ireland now sitting fourth in the section on just one point.

Nevertheless, De Bruyne refused to write off Martin O’Neill’s men just yet in the race to reach the last 16.

“I think every game is difficult in the Euros – Ireland have a chance and Italy are already through so you never know,” he added.