Kazan: Belgium coach Roberto Martinez said Friday he was the ‘proudest man on earth’ and lavished praise on his ‘underdog’ team for having the belief to upset five-time champions Brazil to reach the World Cup semifinals for only the second time.
Martinez shook up his side promoting Marouane Fellaini and Nacer Chadli to the starting line-up, while dropping Dries Mertens to allow playmaker Kevin De Bruyne to play further forward. The ploy proved a masterstroke.
“Against them, there’s a psychological barrier — the yellow tops, the five world titles and everything that goes with that,” Martinez told reporters of facing Brazil.
I know Neymar likes to curl it that way. I was ready and made a good save. I have been unfairly criticised a lot this year. Today I proved again who I am and why I am here
Thibaut Courtois – Belgium goalkeeper
“So we had to be brave tactically. It was a big gamble to change things and we needed the players to believe. Today was about their mentality, and I’m the proudest man on earth because I gave the players a very tough tactical assignment, and the way they believed until the last second was incredible,” added the Spanish coach.
Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois made a number of fine saves and needed every inch of his nearly-two metre frame to deny Brazil’s talisman Neymar with a glove in the dying minutes when he pulled off an incredible save.
Football is about team game. Lots of people say I am selfish because I try to score goals. I do so because I am a striker. But I have proved in this tournament that I can also turn provider
Romelu Lukaku – Belgium striker
“For me, Brazil are the best team in the tournament and without a doubt the biggest threat from open play,” Martinez pointed out. “We had to defend well for 90 minutes. But I felt our performance merited the opportunity to go through.”
Man of the match De Bruyne said his team had passed a ‘test of character’ in the closing 15 minutes as Brazil peppered the goal but were unable to find an equaliser.
“Now we face an extraordinary team in France, but any time you reach the semifinals of a World Cup, you know you’re not going to face weak opposition,” he said. “We’re on an equal footing with them, and we’ll be doing everything we can to win.”
