Roberto Martinez said on Monday the team’s concentration would be key in Belgium’s semi-final encounter with France and that the tactical adventure he used against Brazil in the quarter-finals was no guarantee to secure a win.
“There are some special individuals that can decide the scoreline in one action so I don’t think this is the type of game that you can think that you can walk onto the pitch and thinking that you are going to perform in a way that you did before against Brazil is going to help you. Not at all,” he said.
Midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, who scored his first goal in Russia against Brazil, said, “When you are part of a World Cup it is always “now or never”. as a player, perhaps, you have the chance to take part in a World or a European championship twice or three times in a lifetime. In other competitions if you lose one day you can still make a comeback a couple of days later, but here it is different, we know we are out if we don’t win.”
Asked about Thierry Henry, who will try to stop his country from advancing to Sunday’s final, Martinez said he had brought the international experience to the team as well as “elite thoughts”
Henry, who scored 51 goals in 123 international appearances, played for France at four World Cups in all. He was a runner-up in 2006 and also competed in 2002 and 2010.
