De Bruyne: Substance over style

Belgium midfielder Kevin De Bruyne says winning is all that matters as they head into the last-16 of the FIFA World Cup.

Marc Wilmots’ men will face the United States in Salvador on Tuesday after winning all three of their Group H matches en route to the knockout stages, although Belgium have failed to deliver the results in style.

Belgium came from behind to beat Algeria 2-1 in their World Cup opener, while they battled to 1-0 wins over Russia and South Korea.

Speaking ahead of the fixture at the Itaipava Arena Fonte Nova, De Bruyne dismissed any criticism of Belgium’s performances, claiming results are all that matter.

“For us it’s about winning the game,” the 23-year-old Wolfsburg player told reporters.

“If you score one goal more than the other (team) then everybody can say whatever they want. For me I just want to win the game and go as far as possible.

“You will not find any easy games at this World Cup so I think it’s a little bit stupid for people to say they (Belgium) didn’t play good.

“But I think we deserved to win the three games and that’s it.”