Instead, Kevin de Bruyne, the team’s captain, led his teammates away from the boisterous jeers from the crowd, which they had directed towards the goalless draw with Ukraine.
The midfield player did not try to score from the set-piece a few minutes prior when he played a corner short and kept it close to the flag. When it was eventually played back to goalkeeper Koen Casteels, the Belgium crowd booed loudly.
“There is one minute left of the game so you don’t want to take any risks,” De Bruyne stated.
“People want us to win, and I get that, but if we go for the corner, they get it back.
There are situations when you need to be wise and others when you need to take some risks. There are two minutes remaining, so you must act wisely.
The supporters of his team were not happy about the decision, as just hours before they had marched in large numbers to the stadium, yelling and singing De Bruyne’s name.
With four points from three games, Belgium finished second in Group E behind Romania. Domenico Tedesco’s team will now play World Cup-winning France.
But what message does De Bruyne want to get over their critical last-16 matchup with Stuttgart, given how poorly he left their supporters behind.
