Belgium would be deeply disappointed if they fail to win the World Cup, defender Thomas Vermaelen said on Sunday, in the first direct acknowledgement of the team’s belief in their ability to emerge triumphant in Russia.
While other players have kept up a steady mantra of taking the tournament one game at a time, the 32-year-old defender make clear his vista was firmly focused on Sunday’s final in Moscow.
“We want desperately to get to the final and go on and win, because if it doesn’t happen it will forever be a disappointment. Our ambition is to go on and win the final,” Vermaelen told a news conference 48 hours ahead of the semi-final against France in St Petersburg.
Photo: EPA
“I believe in it of course, especially as we find ourselves in the semi-finals having knocked out one of the top favorites,” he said. “We’ve also shown we can play attractive football, we’ve come back from some difficult moments against Japan. It would be absurd to say we don’t believe.”
Friday last week’s 2-1 victory over Brazil in the quarter-finals followed a rousing come-from-behind win over Japan, where Belgium found themselves two goals behind with 30 minutes to play, but won 3-2.
Vermaelen believes France will be tougher opponents than five-time world champions Brazil.
“France were one of the favorites before the World Cup and I think the game will be tougher than against Brazil because of their individual quality,” he said. “I think they are a lot stronger in defense, I feel it’s going to be a hard tussle.”
He singled out his Barcelona teammate Samuel Umtiti.
“He’s quick and strong, a complete defender,” Vermaelen said.
However, Belgium are counting on stars of their own like Eden Hazard and Kevin de Bruyne.
“For us to finally be able to knock out a formidable opponent is because of the experience we’ve picked up at previous tournaments and also the development of our players at their clubs,” Vermaelen said.
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
INTER AWAIT: Superb saves by PSG ’keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma inspired the victory, as Arsenal were punished for misses, including one by Bukayo Saka Arsenal on Wednesday fell short on the big stage again as their painful UEFA Champions League semi-final exit against Paris Saint-Germain left Mikel Arteta to rue his club’s failure to provide him with enough attacking options. Arteta’s side were unable to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 19 years as PSG clinched a tense 2-1 win at Parc des Princes. Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in London, the Gunners made a blistering start to the second leg, but could not convert their chances as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s superb saves inspired PSG’s 3-1 aggregate victory. Arsenal were punished for
Taiwanese e-sports veteran Lin “ET” Chia-hung yesterday successfully defended his King of Fighters XV title at this year’s Evolution Championship Series: Japan (EVO Japan), securing his second consecutive championship. Lin claimed victory with a 3-1 win over Japanese pro gamer “mok” in the grand final, repeating his earlier 3-1 win against the same opponent in the winners’ final. The 40-year-old earned a ￥1 million (US$6,897) cash prize at the two-day tournament, which drew 294 competitors. Mok, Lin’s toughest rival in the bracket, took home ￥400,000 as runner-up. Lin remains undefeated in match sets against mok in King of Fighters XV, holding a 10-0 record,
RSS