Rudi Garcia conveyed that Belgium has attracted “everyone thinks we are going home” of new supporters following Donald Trump’s attempts to convince FIFA to lift Folarin Balogun’s red card, prior to their victory against the USA in the Round of 16. The coach believes this surge in backing will offer them “The conditions will only be as difficult as they were in the round of 16,” as they gear up to face Spain in the quarter-finals. He remains hopeful about his team’s chances, despite widespread skepticism regarding their potential elimination.
Trump asserted he had reached out to FIFA to request a suspension of Balogun’s punishment after the direct red card issued during the match against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Even though FIFA made the unusual decision to postpone the striker’s ban for a year, Belgium secured a commanding 4-1 win over the USA. Post-match, the Belgian football federation humorously called to “We had 12 million Belgium fans and now, over the last few days, I think we have millions and millions behind us; they have joined our ranks and I think that will be great. I think that will give us incredible strength. I don’t know what [the atmosphere] will be like in the stadium but we will concentrate on what we have to do. We have enough on our plate with the Spanish squad. “We know we are playing one of the favourites and we know the strength they have as individuals and as a collective, which has been the case for 15 or 20 years now,” on social media, with players celebrating by mimicking Trump’s dance moves. Garcia indicated that he reassured Balogun, stressing that the lobbying efforts were not his doing.
This victory means Belgium will take the place of the USA in their next match against Spain at the Los Angeles Stadium, where a large number of the 80,000 available seats are likely to be occupied by American fans. However, Garcia is undeterred by the expected hostile atmosphere, confident that his team is now stronger and more popular than ever.
Garcia remarked, “They are the best when it comes to possession of the ball and we know that they have not conceded a goal but statistics are there to be broken and we will do what we can to score. If not, we will be sent packing. We are the second highest scoring team at the World Cup. Everyone is talking about us going home but we can do it. “Maybe some are discovering our team now but I know them off by heart. I know their character and what they can do. The quality of the group is not shown when things are going swimmingly; it is shown when we are in hot water. Against Senegal, a team that should never have finished third in a group, but had France and Norway with them, we were able to get through. I have two XIs: one that starts the game and one that finishes it and we have lots of qualities on the bench. I have one of the best strikers of all time there.”
He continued, “We had lots of chats. When he comes on the opponents are quaking in their boots, they are much more worried,”
Garcia acknowledged that while some may be just discovering his team, he is intimately familiar with their capabilities. “I had a chat with the coach in April and he said I had to be prepared for a certain role,”
That striker, Romelu Lukaku, sat beside Garcia, who jokingly remarked that Lukaku was merely pretending to be a substitute when he would actually be starting. The two elaborated on the impact of Belgium’s all-time leading scorer, who faced a challenging season without a single start at Napoli.
Garcia stated, “I said ‘OK’ and here we are. Everything is going well and we are going to continue like this. We are well prepared physically, mentally and tactically. I know that I am in this situation because this has been a very hard year. The coach visited me and we talked for two hours. I know my role for this tournament. It would be crazy, having played just 64 minutes [for Napoli] to start every game. It would be self destructive. It is all about the team. I have to play with my head as well. “If you get this far you’re not going to just play to go home,” a sentiment that has proven accurate.
Despite starting only once in this tournament, the 33-year-old forward has scored three goals and provided an assist, averaging a goal every 50 minutes on the pitch, including one against the United States. His impressive tally of 93 goals for Belgium ranks him among the all-time greats, with only Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Ali Daei, and Sunil Chhetri ahead of him. Lukaku has achieved a faster international scoring rate than both Ronaldo and Messi.
“We need to play the perfect game tomorrow.” Lukaku shared. “I said ‘OK’ and here we are. Everything is going well and we are going to continue like this. We are well prepared physically, mentally, and tactically. I know that I am in this situation because this has been a very hard year. The coach visited me and we talked for two hours. I know my role for this tournament. It would be crazy, having played just 64 minutes [for Napoli] to start every game. It would be self-destructive. It is all about the team. I have to play with my head as well.”
“If you get this far, you’re not going to just play to go home,” Lukaku added. “We need to play the perfect game tomorrow.”
