Belgian coach Roberto Martinez on Wednesday said the World Cup “doesn’t respect individual talent” after holders Germany were sensationally eliminated after losing 2-0 to South Korea.
Martinez manages a Belgian side that has the players to go far in this tournament, but the former Everton coach said Germany’s shock departure proved no side was unbeatable.
“We all know the talent that we have. It’s a generation to be extremely proud of, especially with Belgium having only 11 million population and we have some stunning individuals,” he told reporters in Kaliningrad ahead of Thursday’s Group G showdown with England. “But unfortunately the World Cup doesn’t respect individual talent. The World Cup only respects teams that work hard for each other and work hard as a team that has a winning mentality. The World Cup is a very, very difficult tournament with small margins.”
Germany, who shipped two late goals in the search for a winner in Kazan, become the fourth defending champions to be eliminated in the group stage since 2002.