Kevin De Bruyne made a big impression on Belgium on Thursday evening in the European Championship match against Denmark (1-2 win). The Manchester City midfielder was brought in at half-time trailing 1-0 and played an important role in the final victory of the Manchester City with a goal and an assist. Red Devils. Kenneth Perez and Marco van Basten are particularly impressed by De Bruyne’s game.
“I think it’s ridiculous that Belgium is allowed to change”, says Perez with a smile at the NOS. In addition to De Bruyne, the Belgian national coach Roberto Martínez also brought in Eden Hazard as a substitute. “That’s when real quality came on the field. “The first fifteen minutes or twenty minutes of the second half it was very difficult for Denmark, after that they came back. But yes, De Bruyne.. Gosh, what a quality. Denmark created many opportunities, many shots towards goal. But to no avail. Much honour, zero points.”
Kevin De Bruyne gives Belgium the lead. But his assist with the equalizer should also be there?? pic.twitter.com/PMBHpQJxA9
— NOS Sports (@NOSsport) June 17, 2021
“Initially, De Bruyne came in, which is of course a class act. Hazard later on. Yes, adding those two did make a difference”, explains fellow analyst Van Basten. De Bruyne played an important part in the equalizing goal after he decided to carry the ball into the penalty area for a moment and then pass it to Thorgan Hazard. Perez: “Nine out of ten would shoot. He takes it and hands the ball. I hate it as a Dane, but I really enjoyed De Bruyne.”
“He is on the ball, but he knows what is happening around him and who is where,” Van Basten continues. “He plays with that, he always keeps the overview. Especially when his boyfriend Hazard came along, things got old-fashioned. They look for and find each other, that benefits the team. Lukaku too, when he’s fed by those guys, it’s gonna be a party. Belgium did it a bit at eighty percent and that’s not really what you want to see.”
In ‘s studio sporza there are also praising sounds about De Bruyne by Ruud Vormer and Wesley Sonk. “They had a lot of chances, the Danes. The two men made the difference. Deserved, based on the second half,” says Ruud Vormer. The Club Brugge midfielder is particularly impressed by De Bruyne’s assist in the equalizer. “This is so good. This is fantastic. I was just talking to Wesley about it: everyone, really everyone would shoot here. And this boy lays it wide for a while.”
Lukaku -> Tielemans -> T. Hazard -> E. Hazard -> De Bruyne -> GOAL! #DenBel pic.twitter.com/iWZwoKnyif
— sporza (@sporza) June 17, 2021
“I think Kevin De Bruyne has a drone in his head. There is no other way. Seeing such things at this level… We (Vormer and Sonck, ed.) immediately said: ‘We would shoot here.’ But he sees something we don’t. He not only has the overview, but also the technique”, says Sonck, former attacker of KRC Genk, Ajax, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Club Brugge and the Belgian national team.
“Oh how beautiful, Kevin de Bruyne. Left, right, assist, it looks so simple. What a class”, writes analyst Arnold Bruggink on Twitter. Wim Kieft saw De Bruyne make the difference in Copenhagen with his individual qualities. “I heard at the NOS at halftime that the Belgians could not handle the system of those Danes,” says Kieft in the program de the Dutch summer from SBS6. “They put way too much emphasis on those systems all the time, but when De Bruyne came in there was nothing left of that system, you know what I mean? In the end it comes down to individual qualities. I don’t think the system matters that much. It’s overrated and it’s too much about it.”
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