Real Madrid News
Thibaut Courtois reveals the team he will support after Belgium’s World Cup exit
Belgium’s goalless draw with Croatia this evening meant that the European giants are out of the tournament, after finishing third in Group F, behind Morocco and Croatia.
Speaking after the match, the Belgian goalkeeper wished luck to all his Real Madrid teammates who are still participating in the World Cup. But most notably, he admitted his support for the Spanish national team during the remainder of the competition.
“Now I will support Spain, but I also want my Real Madrid colleagues to do well, so I also wish the best for Lukita, the Brazilians, Vinicius, Rodrygo, Rudiger. I hope everyone can go as far as they can and see the champion be one of them or more than one in December,” he said (h/t RM4Arab).
Modric was notably involved in the Croatia team that moved to the knockout rounds after a goalless draw with Belgium. As for Antonio Rudiger, his Germany team must secure a win and hope Spain beats Japan if they are to qualify for the next round.
The Brazilian national team, meanwhile, represented by Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo, have their place in the knockout rounds sealed as well following back-to-back wins over Switzerland and Serbia respectively.
In his post-match speech, Courtois went on to offer his thoughts on Eden Hazard. The goalkeeper backed the former Chelsea star to do well in the future despite his apparent failure with the Belgian national team.
“Eden has shown he’s playing well. It’s a pity that today he only played 10 minutes. He is very good and deserves more chances. Psychologically, the substitution was a blow for him, I’m sure of that. He is a great player and can still give a lot to football,” he said.
Hazard has featured in all three of Belgium’s group matches in this World Cup. But the forward has not been able to be involved in a single goal. It has been the same case at the club level, with the player recording just one goal and one assist so far this season.
Real Madrid News
Mourinho talks Carlos Espi, Diomande, Guler, Tchouameni, Atletico Madrid after Elche 2-3 Real Madrid
Real Madrid found another way to win, but Jose Mourinho was hardly celebrating the manner of it.
Carlos Espi’s injury-time strike completed a 3-2 comeback against Elche, rescuing Madrid after they had surrendered control of a game that appeared to be in their hands.
For Mourinho, the result was welcome, but the performance raised a familiar concern.
“When everything seems easy and you let things slide, it’s dangerous. Then the team reacts and wins, but it’s not pleasant.
“The other good thing is that nobody gets bored with these matches. They’re fun,” he began saying.
Mourinho knows what is going wrong
The Portuguese coach was particularly frustrated by another drop in intensity after the interval.
Real Madrid had opportunities to put the game beyond Elche before allowing their advantage to disappear. Mourinho believes that pattern is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.
“It seems obvious to me. It’s easy to understand. These are games that are all but over, where we have chances to seal the deal but don’t. After failing to do so, we go from having it easy to losing control.
“If we play poorly from the first minute to the 90th, the concern is huge.
“If we have periods where we’re at our best and others where we’re not proactive, just waiting, lacking intensity… Of course it’s a concern. But we won.”
The win keeps Madrid moving, but Mourinho’s concern is less about the points than the way his team is repeatedly making matches unnecessarily complicated.
Carlos Espi again provided the decisive moment from the bench, although Mourinho knows breaking into the starting XI will be difficult with Mbappé ahead of him.
“He’s a guy who works hard and is very motivated,” Mourinho said.
He then added, “He’s up against a player who’s in a league of his own (Mbappe), and we’re well aware of that.”
Madrid derby comes at a delicate moment
Next up is Atletico Madrid, and Mourinho’s attention is already turning towards the derby.
Rather than focusing on the opposition, he remains concerned about his own side’s ability to manage matches.
“The only explanation I can find is that we can’t keep going like this. We misjudged the opportunities we had, and once they score a goal, everything changes,” explained the Real Madrid coach.
Meanwhile, there were positives to take from individual performances, as Mourinho praised Yan Diomande’s development after another energetic outing.
“He’s improving. Physically, you can tell he has more minutes under his belt. He has a great work ethic and intelligence—he’s done a great job.”
Mourinho refuses to call Guler indispensable
Arda Guler’s importance was also questioned after another fantastic performance, but Mourinho rejected the idea that any player is beyond replacement.
“No, no one is indispensable. We were losing control when I made the substitutions; Vini did a great job on defence, but he was very tired.
“And Arda, who was playing in the number 10 position, was also losing intensity.
“I brought in a fresh Jude and Brahim when we were down 0-2, but I could sense we were losing control. That’s how it goes for us. And then, we brought in the heavy artillery and turned it around.”
Mourinho was also pleased with Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde during Madrid’s strongest spells.
“When the team was playing well, he and Valverde were playing well. They broke through the pressure easily, with skill.
“But the game had two phases—or rather three: one until it was 0–2, another until it was 2–2, and another until the end. They did a good job,” he concluded.
Source: AS
