‘Albiceleste ordinary’, mocks belgium coach

Belgium coach Marc Wilmots branded Argentina ‘a very ordinary team with one extraordinary player’ after they overcame his side 1-0 in the World Cup quarterfinal. ‘I’m not at all impressed by Argentina. They’re a very ordinary team with one extraordinary player,’ Wilmots told a post-match press conference, in an apparent reference to Argentina captain Lionel Messi. Belgium struggled to create chances after falling behind to an eighth-minute Gonzalo Higuain goal and Wilmots was unable to disguise his frustration at the outcome of the game. ‘We saw Argentina’s experience. They break the rhythm, they take 40 seconds to take a throw-in, and they’re never brought to order by the referee. We made some very small mistakes, but we learnt a lot tonight. We’re very disappointed, everyone is very down, but I’m very proud of the boys,’ he said. Wilmots did not feel they were superior to his team. ‘We can always expect more, but we expended a fair amount of energy against the United States (in the last 16). And them (Argentina), how many shots on target did they have? If I’d done that, I’m sure the Belgian press would have criticised me for not trying to play.