Coach Rudi Garcia said “everyone” expects his Belgium team to be eliminated by Spain in Friday’s World Cup quarter-final, but backed his side to pull off a famous victory.
European champions Spain enter the match in Los Angeles as strong favorites, having not conceded a goal all tournament.
Belgium have had a more testing time of it, only narrowly topping their group after two draws with Egypt and Iran, and requiring a late comeback to dispatch Senegal.
But at a press conference Thursday, Garcia appeared to relish being dubbed the “underdog.”
“Everyone is already talking about us going home. But we think that we can do it,” said the coach.
“We think we can pull it off, and we’re going to do everything we can to get to the semis.”
Belgium did find their feet in Monday’s round-of-16 clash, thrashing the United States 4-1 to end the hopes of the World Cup co-hosts.
Garcia pointed out that Belgium are among the tournament’s top scorers, behind only France and Argentina with 13 goals. The Belgians’ 107 shots are second only to France, who have played a game more.
Asked if he was concerned a predominantly American crowd in Los Angeles could be hostile as a result of Belgium’s victory over the US, Garcia said it was the least of his concerns.
“We just beat the US, obviously, and again at a stadium where everyone was against us. So I don’t think the conditions will be any more difficult tomorrow,” said the coach.
He added: “It’s not the fans that score the goals. We’re going to focus on what we can do. We’ve got enough on our plate with the Spanish squad that is a wonderful footballing team.
“And even if we’re the underdog for tomorrow, we’re going to do everything we can to give them a run for their money.”
Belgium’s veteran striker Romelu Lukaku echoed his manager’s words, telling journalists that “if you manage to get this far, then you’re not going to play a game just to go home.”
“I think we also have the necessary talent. Tomorrow we need to play the perfect game,” said Lukaku.
