Belgium national team head coach Roberto Martinez was disappointed by his player’s luck of composure in front of goal during their 2-0 loss to Morocco on Sunday afternoon.
The Red Devils fell to second half goals scored by substitute Abdelhamid Sabiri and Zakaria Aboukhlal, in the closing stages of the match.
Speaking after the game, Belgium manager Roberto Martinez said he believes his charges lost composure after allowing the first goal in their second Group F encounter against the Moroccans.
“It’s a difficult result because the first goal affected the outcome a lot. It’s a dead ball situation, we couldn’t get our game going and it’s a game that we need to understand. We need to be together and react in the next game. That’s what happens in the World Cup,” Martinez said after the match.
“The way we defended the goal is the way we have been defending free-kicks for six years, that’s not the issue. It’s a good ball in, it’s nothing to do with the set up,” continued Martinez.
“I think we had good moments but we couldn’t get clear cut chances, we only had a couple of half opportunities and if you allow that goal to be conceded then it changes the game radically,” he explained.
“At the moment we conceded the goal we lost our composure too much and we couldn’t get ourselves back in the final third with more thought,” added the coach.
“We knew Morocco were getting bodies behind the ball and we couldn’t break them down. The game went away from us the moment we conceded the goal,” said the Red Devils manager.
“We need to make sure that we get stronger together and we’ll get ready for the third game,” concluded Martinez.
Belgium are currently third on the Group F standings with three points after two matches and they will next face Croatia in a battle for a position in the Round of 16.
