Belgium coach Roberto Martinez (49, Spain), who was eliminated from the group stage of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, announced his intention to resign.
Belgium drew 0-0 with Croatia in the third match of Group F held at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Arrayyan, Qatar on the 2nd (Korea time).
With 1 win, 1 draw and 1 loss, Belgium finished third in the group behind Morocco (2 wins, 1 draw) and Croatia (1 win, 2 draws).
It is the first time in 24 years since the 1998 World Cup in France that Belgium, who are currently second in the FIFA rankings, have been eliminated from the group stage at the World Cup.
In an interview after the game, manager Martinez announced his intention to resign, saying, “This game was my last game.”
Martinez, who has coached the Belgian national team since 2016, finished third at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, beating Brazil in the quarter-finals.
However, he finished in the quarter-finals at last year’s European Championships, when he was aiming for the championship.
In any case, the period of the contract is about to expire after the World Cup.
Belgium scored just one goal in their three group games.
“Originally, I thought of this tournament as the last,” said Martinez. “Even if we had won, it would have been the same.”
“Today’s game against Croatia was good,” he said, regretting, “I didn’t show my skills during the first and second games against Canada and Morocco.”
/happy news
