Roberto Martinez says Kevin de Bruyne’s ‘too old to win World Cup’ comment didn’t hurt Belgium

Roberto Martinez says Belgium weren’t affected by Kevin de Bruyne’s suggestion that the team is “too old” to win the World Cup and thinks the Manchester City playmaker might have meant it as a double-bluff.

De Bruyne said in an interview with The Guardian on Saturday that Belgium had “no chance” of winning the World Cup because the team was “too old”.

The Red Devils then put in a poor performance a day later against Morocco, deservedly losing 2-0 to put their campaign in Qatar in jeopardy, with De Bruyne among the Belgian players who failed to impress.

However, manager Martinez brushed away the suggestion that the interview had a negative impact on his players in the build-up to the game.

“This is the first time I’ve heard those comments,” he said.

“At a World Cup players have to speak to the media every day, 90% of it will be positive but there are always one or two lines that don’t fit into the context.

“We are all professionals and we know how to perform. A player is allowed to air their view.

“We’ve been together for six years now and comments won’t help us to win. Maybe it was a double-bluff. It’s what happens behind the scenes that matters.”

Belgium face Croatia in their final Group F game next week, and need a result to stand any chance of progressing.

After two games, Martinez’s side are third with three points, one point behind Croatia and Morocco.

The Croatians defeated Canada 4-1 on Sunday to knock the Canadians out of the competition.