Kevin de Bruyne Sends Defiant Message to Rivals After Belgium Knock Out Brazil
Kevin De Bruyne is confident Belgium's thrilling World Cup quarter final victory over Brazil showcased to the rest of the world what the Red Devils are truly capable of.
The Manchester City playmaker starred at the Kazan Arena, where his stunning long range strike proved to be the difference as the Seleção fell to a 2-1 defeat after the 27-year-old's City teammate Fernandinho turned the ball into the back of his own net.
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Belgium's victory pieced together individual brilliance into a superb display of team efficiency, a quality many had questioned whether they could piece together ahead of the summer's tournament.
While Brazil refused to bow out without resistance, Beglium stood up to the test to seal their passage into the semi-finals for the second time in their history.
"It is not easy to play against Brazil, they are such a wonderful team," De Bruyne told BBC Sport, via the Daily Mail.
"But the power we have as a team has shown today, especially the first half. I think we played magnificently.
"The second half was very difficult and the last 15 minutes were a character test but I think we showed the world what we are capable of."
Manager Roberto Martinez tweaked with his tactics for the quarter final clash having opted to move De Bruyne further up the field, and while he received praise for his decision he insisted the players deserved the most credit for the result.
He said: "It is the execution of the tactics that matters. The execution was magnificent. I couldn't be prouder
"'They were incredible, incredible hearts out there. You have to accept Brazil have this finesse, this quality and they are going to break you down. But they didn't accept that.
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"I didn't think for one minute they were going to give up. This is something special. These boys deserve to be really special people back in Belgium. I hope everyone in Belgium is very, very proud."
Belgium will now meet France in the semi-final on Tuesday evening at the Krestovsky Stadium.
