Kevin de Bruyne bust-up: Belgium’s World Cup in disarray

Cameron Smith

• Updated: 23 May 2023 08:56 CDT
• 3 min read

Belgium's 2-0 defeat to Morocco in the second group stage game of the 2022 Qatar World Cup has left Roberto Martinez's side needing a result against Croatia to qualify for the last-16 and has heightened existing tensions within the squad.

Belgium, who are currently ranked as the second-best international team in the world by FIFA, were passive and toothless in the loss to Morocco, with star man Kevin de Bruyne receiving plenty of criticism for the result.

Not only have questions risen over whether Belgium will qualify for the knockout stages of the tournament, but questions have emerged over the togetherness of their squad, with reports suggesting the team have had a bust-up which has split the camp.

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Inter Milan forward Romelu Lukaku was reportedly forced to intervene and stop a dressing room bust-up directly after the loss to Morocco, with De Bruyne and Eden Hazard said to be at the heart of the disagreement.

France have notoriously been the nation with inter-team problems in the past, but Belgium may now have taken that title away from Les Blues thanks to their antics during this World Cup.

What has happened to Belgium

According to reports from RTL, "a crisis meeting was held at the training camp in Abu Samra between executives and coach" on Monday, 28 November.

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It goes beyond that too, with the dressing room reportedly divided. "Until then, this group had overcome in competition its lack of envy, its enmities. Kevin De Bruyne and Thibaut Courtois have not spoken to each other for years for private reasons," report RTL.

"Michy Batshuayi and Romelu Lukaku are not best friends either. Eden Hazard and Leandro Trossard do not speak to each other."

De Bruyne and Courtois infamously don't get along as the Manchester City star's ex-girlfriend allegedly had a fling with Courtois, which is a topic of much debate within the national team set-up and has caused tension previously. Now, it seems conflicts have superseded their sour relationship and the squad has now turned on one another.

With Croatia turning on the style in a rampant 4-1 victory over Canada last time out, Belgium are facing the prospect of a group stage exit, just four years after reaching the World Cup semi-final.

Something needs to change because Belgium have looked disconnected on the pitch, and it could see them fall at the first hurdle in Qatar.