VERMAELEN SAYS BELGIUM WILL BOUNCE BACK AT QATAR NEXT YEAR

A lot of people expected Belgium to be one of the major contenders of the recently concluded UEFA Euros tournament, but their campaign ended in a rather shocking and unexpected fashion. Although they were knocked out by one of the favorites before the tournament and eventual winners, Italy, the strength they had in their squad made a lot of people think that they would have a better campaign than they did. Belgium fielded some of the best players in the world currently from the goalkeeping department right to their attack, including Thibaut Courtois, Kevin de Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, and others.

While they broke the hearts of many following their exit from the tournament, they are still forgiven for losing to a worthy opponent. But according to their former player Thomas Vermaelen, the Belgian Red Devils will prepare to have a better World Cup campaign next year. The likes of France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain also had dismal performances at the Euros, but they all have the opportunity to regroup and prepare for football’s most prestigious competition – the FIFA World Cup tournament which will hold in Qatar next year.

Vermaelen believes that the Belgium players all tried their best against Italy but were only unfortunate and unlucky to not have won the tie. The former Barcelona defender said that Italy are also a great side and they showed that they had the better credentials after beating England in the final to lift the title.

Belgium head coach Roberto Martinez was tipped to get the sack after their exit from the tournament but he has been given assurances that he will lead the team to the World Cup next year and Vermaelen is in full support of the decision by the country’s Football Federation.