DOHA: Belgium’s squad held a meeting where players aired their “honest” views about how the team can salvage their World Cup campaign, goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois said Tuesday.
Belgium arrived in Qatar as the No. 2-ranked team and one of the tournament favorites, but were unconvincing in a 1-0 win over Canada before losing to Morocco 2-0 on Sunday.
The team need to beat Croatia in their final group game on Thursday to guarantee advancing to the last 16.
Courtois and Belgium captain Eden Hazard played down reports of infighting in the squad that surfaced after the Morocco game.
Courtois did say, however, he and his teammates had a frank exchange of views at their training base in Al Rayyan on Monday.
“I did not feel like there were issues, but it is always good to have a meeting all together so everybody can share their thoughts,” the Real Madrid goalkeeper said Tuesday.
“This way, everything is sorted and I think that the best thing we can do is to be honest, because on the pitch we have to fight for each other. So being honest is the most important thing.”
There has been plenty of focus on a seemingly off-the-cuff comment by Kevin De Bruyne, the star of the team, in a pre-tournament interview with British newspaper The Guardian.
In it, De Bruyne was asked if Belgium can win the World Cup and he was quoted as saying: “No chance, we’re too old.” Against Canada, Belgium had six players in their 30s in the starting lineup, with four of them having accrued more than 100 international appearances.
One of them is Jan Vertonghen, who appeared to make a reference to De Bruyne’s remark when speaking after the loss to Morocco.
“Where did it go wrong?” Vertonghen said. “We probably also attack badly because we are too old, that must be it now, surely?”
Hazard said he had spoken to De Bruyne and that his long-time teammate “believes in us more than ever.”
“Sometimes in an interview, you say funny things you don’t really mean,” Hazard said. “I think he just wanted to say that we are older than four years ago. And he is right, we are older.
“Everybody is older. The defenders. Us, the midfielders. Thibaut is older than four years ago, it is what it is. I think Kevin is the first to have confidence in this group, otherwise he would not be here.”
Hazard urged his team to play with “no fear” against Croatia, the 2018 World Cup runner-up.
“In two days, it could be our last game, so we have to play with desire to win,” he said. “If we go together on the pitch, 11 players, we can beat Croatia. I know it is going to be difficult, because every game in this World Cup is difficult, but we can do it. With the team we have, we can do it.”
Belgium hold players’ meeting after poor start to World Cup
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Belgium hold players’ meeting after poor start to World Cup
- Belgium arrived in Qatar as the No. 2-ranked team and one of the tournament favorites
- The team need to beat Croatia in their final group game on Thursday to guarantee advancing to the last 16
New Zealand looks to its batting depth, game-breakers at the T20 World Cup
- The Black Caps’ best effort in nine World Cups was in 2021 when they were well beaten by Australia in the final
- The latest T20 World Cup starts Saturday in India and Sri Lanka over the next month
WELLINGTON, New Zealand: New Zealand will lean heavily on its batting depth and proven match-winners to balance a depleted attack as it attempts to win the T20 World Cup for the first time.
The Black Caps’ best effort in nine World Cups was in 2021 when they were well beaten by Australia in the final.
That record reflects New Zealand’s love-hate relationship with a format to which it seems well adapted with its high percentage of allrounders. New Zealand played the first-ever T20 international, against Australia, and its win-loss record in around 260 internationals is roughly 50 percent.
The latest T20 World Cup starts Saturday in India and Sri Lanka over the next month.
New Zealand heads into the tournament on the back of a humbling T20 series loss to India in India. In the fifth game, New Zealand conceded a record 271-5, which included a century from 40 balls by Ishan Kishan.
New Zealand’s weakened bowling attack was under the pump throughout the series. In the third match, India chased down New Zealand’s 153-9 with only two wickets down and 10 overs remaining.
Asked at the end of the series if there was anything New Zealand could have done to contain the Indian batters, skipper Mitchell Santner joked, “Maybe push the boundaries back a little bit!”
But Santner was happy with the intelligence New Zealand gained from the India series ahead of its World Cup opener against Afghanistan at Chennai.
“We look at the series as a whole. We learned a lot of good stuff,” Santner said. “It’s not easy as a bowling unit. We’ve got to find ways against very good batters.”
New Zealand will ask much of the 31-year-old pacer Jacob Duffy, who will be playing at his first T20 World Cup. Duffy had an extraordinary breakout season in 2025, taking 81 wickets in a calendar year to break the New Zealand record held by Richard Hadlee. He is the No. 4-ranked T20 bowler in the world.
Apart from Duffy, the New Zealand pace lineup includes Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry and Kyle Jamieson, who came in as a late replacement for the injured Adam Milne. Ben Sears is the traveling reserve and may see action as Henry and Ferguson may both take short breaks for paternity leave.
Santner and Ish Sodhi are the main spin options, with Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra and Michael Bracewell providing backup.
Sodhi said the batters spent time facing spin in their tournament preparation.
“At training the boys wanted to face spinners and see what their boundary and single options were, so it was really cool that everyone is training specifically for that,” he said.
New Zealand’s strong batting lineup comprises of Finn Allen, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Daryl Mitchell, Rachin Ravindra and Tim Seifert. Seifert will also keep wicket while the allrounders Jimmy Neesham, who provides an extra pace option, Bracewell and Phillips balance the squad.
“We’ve got plenty of power and skill in the batting, quality bowlers who can adapt to conditions plus five allrounders who all bring something slightly different,” New Zealand coach Rob Walter said.
“This is an experienced group and the players are no strangers to playing in the subcontinent, which will be valuable.”
New Zealand’s squad includes players with franchise experience around the world who bring a match-winning element.
Allen has a strike rate of 165.45 in T20 internationals and 175.23 in domestic or franchise T20 cricket.
Phillips has a strike rate of 141.56 in international T20s and provides athleticism in the field, reflected by his 52 catches.
“World Cups are special and there’s few better places to play one than in India, which is very much the heartbeat of the modern game,” Walter said. “I’m really happy with the skills and experience of this squad. We have a group which can make New Zealand proud.”
New Zealand is drawn in Group D with Afghanistan, Canada, South Africa and the UAE.
