Kevin De Bruyne posted on social media, shortly after Belgium were booed following their 0-0 draw with Ukraine at Euro 2024.
Belgium are through to the last 16 of the tournament, after coming second in their group. They will now face France in their next match.
Belgium had looked much improved in their previous game against Romania, with De Bruyne and fellow City star Jeremy Doku both shining.
They won 2-0 and so, expectations were high against Ukraine.
But it was a very poor performance from one of the highest-ranked teams in the tournament, and fans in the stadium were not happy at the end.
Kevin De Bruyne posts just one word on social media, after Belgium were booed at Euro 2024
Belgium were way off it against Ukraine, and there did not appear to be a big desire to win the game, especially in the second-half.
Domenico Tedesco’s side were negative, and several times the ball just went all the way back to goalkeeper Koen Casteels.
At the stadium in Stuttgart, the Belgian fans that had attended were not best pleased with what they saw.
Just after the full-time whistle, De Bruyne – who is the captain – led his teammates over to the Belgium supporters to try and thank them for their support (as per journalist Mark Ogden).
They were greeted with jeers, so De Bruyne then urged the players to move away.
There were surprisingly more boos when De Bruyne was collecting his Player of the Match award.
The scenes were slightly unsavoury, and it is clear the fans did not accept what they saw from the players against Ukraine.
De Bruyne – a player Wayne Rooney admitted before last night’s game he wishes he could have played with – posted on Instagram after the match, and the City superstar was clearly not fazed by what had happened.
The defiant star posted just one word; ‘Through!’
A good message
Belgium were really poor against Ukraine and fans are obviously entitled to react however they like, given how much money they have paid to be there.
Whether the boos were warranted or not, it’s a good response from De Bruyne, who is clearly feeling defiant and also realistic.
Ultimately, Belgium are through to the knockout stages. Although now, they have a very tough game indeed coming up against France.
But France themselves have been poor so far at the Euros and Belgium have the potential to beat them.
De Bruyne was Belgium’s best player against Ukraine and his country will need him on top form if they are to get past France. Perhaps now that we’re at the knockout stages, Belgium won’t be as negative.