Belgium coach Wilmots plays down chances of Euro glory

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Belgium's football team are outsiders to win Euro 2016, coach Marc Wilmots told a newspaper, tipping Spain, Germany and France for the tournament starting in June.

Belgium coach Wilmots plays down chances of Euro glory

(Reuters)





Top of the FIFA World Ranking until April and second only to Argentina now, Belgium have been named by some pundits as potential European champions. But in an interview published on Wednesday with Italy's Gazzetta dello Sport, Wilmots played down his squad's chances.

"Just because people are crazy it does not mean I am as well," Wilmots said. "There are teams like Spain, Germany and France that have a lot of quality. We are among the outsiders like Italy and Portugal."

With team captain Vincent Kompany already ruled out of Euro 2016, Wilmots said Belgium would need to avoid injuries to reach the later stages of the tournament.

Liverpool's Divock Origi, who Wilmots picked as a fairly unknown striker for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, is also still uncertain after suffering an ankle injury.

Wilmots said the Belgian team had matured since being knocked out by Argentina in the World Cup quarter-finals, as shown by transfers of players such as Christian Benteke and Kevin De Bruyne to new and bigger clubs.

"It made them more confident in their abilities. We are all more relaxed," said Wilmots, who played for Belgium himself.

Bookmakers rank Belgium as fifth favourites for Euro 2016, behind France, Germany, Spain and England.

"If we can avoid injuries we can reach the semi-finals, and once you are there who knows what can happen," Wilmots said.





(Reporting by Robert-Jan Bartunek; Editing by Philip Blenkinsop and Catherine Evans)


Share

2 min read

Published

Source: Reuters



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world