The head coach of the Belgium national team, Rudy Garcia, commented on his team’s defeat against Ukraine (1:3) in the first playoff match of the Nations League for the right to compete in Division “A” of this tournament, which took place yesterday in Murcia.
Rudy Garcia“What happened today surprised me, I confess. In the first half, we had a difficult start, but then we completely controlled the situation. We played well and scored a good first goal. We could have scored a second, but what’s the use of talking about that now.
In the second half, after the score became 1:1, we collapsed and ultimately suffered a complete failure. Of course, this should not have happened. If you concede a goal, it doesn't mean you should stop playing football.
As for De Winter's mistake in the case of the first conceded goal, I wouldn’t blame him alone: it was a difficult pass to him, and it was not a gift. But that doesn’t mean he should have acted that way: if you're not confident in your control, you just need to clear the ball away. In any case, such things happen in football. It’s part of the learning process. Our reaction after the goal is also part of the learning process. And here too, we still have much to learn. We are going to analyze the conceded goals and try to ensure this doesn’t happen again.
We will also analyze the physical parameters of the players. I have the impression that the Ukrainians were better prepared in this regard and could run even more than we did,” Garcia said at the post-match press conference.
