Mertens-Roberto Martínez: the promise behind his hug

On October 11, Belgium took a blow which, despite how considerably expected it was, did a lot of damage by forms. He was planted at Wembley, where no one had beaten England since September 2018, without five starters and with De Bruyne playing injured. Failure to do so therefore entered the realm of logic, but not falling as much as falling. A goal from a penalty and another from a rebound came from Lukaku, a prize for the Belgian proposal, of great height. Besides the match, those of Roberto Martínez lost the leadership, recovered days later thanks to the surprising stumble of the Southgate against Denmark and the victory against Iceland.

But before that new script twist, in the midst of the doubts there were those who did not hesitate. One of them was Dries Mertens, the most used player in the Martinez era alongside Alderweireld. Absent due to the restrictions around the coronavirus, he picked up the phone after 2-1 on English soil and wrote to Roberto from Naples. The rest of the story was told by the coach at a press conference: “After losing at Wembley he sent me a message saying that we would beat the English at home and reminded me saying that a promise is a promise. He scored a great goal.”

The beautiful celebration of that 2-0, a foul by Mertens in the region where he started in football, was followed by the improvement of England. Martinez was also asked about this: “Who has played better, them or us? It is not difficult to answer, Belgium has been the best. In the first half we had real control of what we were doing and we got two goals early. In the second England they had a lot of possession, they took it away from us, which is not something we like, but we have to give them that credit. Also to my team for keeping the door to zero. We limited England: many shots were blocked or were out. They press high, they move it well … We defended very very well. The two things we wanted to improve at Wembley, the influence in both areas, we got. We learned the lesson. And that's what satisfies me the most. “

Roberto Martínez warns: “Denmark already won at Wembley”

The coach also showed happy for his 50 caps for Belgium: “I am very proud. The important thing is the result, but now I look back and I can only thank the entire coaching staff enormously. They have been very professional in these four years, like all the players who have contributed. I hope the best is yet to come. “ About casualties of Doku (muscle problem) and Dendoncker (knee discomfort due to an action against Switzerland), explained that he preferred not to risk and who expects them to reach Wednesday (8:45 pm) against Denmark, a clash in which neither Witsel nor Meunier will be due to see yellow yesterday.

Finally, a Belgian journalist reminded him of the bad precedent of the previous League of Nations, in which he was left out of the Final Four due to a setback on the last day: “Why can't we lose? When you play in League A it can happen. International football is very difficult because there are great players on all teams. You can win, draw or lose. We know Denmark is capable of winning, they already did at Wembley. It is also true that my footballers are very focused and committed to finishing first, and that is what we can control. “