World Cup: Kevin De Bruyne Boldly Criticises Himself After Winning Player of The Match vs Canada

World Cup: Kevin De Bruyne Boldly Criticises Himself After Winning Player of The Match vs Canada

Rene Otinga
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:17 PM
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K. D. Bruyne
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  • Kevin de Bruyne was not convinced he deserved the Man of the Match award on Wednesday, November 23
  • Michy Batshuayi’s goal was enough for Belgium to sink Canada in their opening World Cup group game
  • De Bruyne was feted with a MOTM award after the game, but stated he did not play well enough to deserve it

Manchester City star Kevin de Bruyne surprised the world with a brilliant show of class, as he questioned why he was awarded the Man of the Match award on Wednesday, November 23.

De Bruyne was at the heart of Belgium’s attack as they came up against Canada in a World Cup Group F game.

Roberto Martinez’s men know this is perhaps the last chance to take full advantage of Belgium’s so-called ‘Golden generation'.

De Bruyne, Player of the match, Canada, Belgium, World Cup
Budweiser player of the match Kevin De Bruyne of Belgium on the LED screen during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group F match against Canada. Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt.
Source: Getty Images

As reported by BBC, it was Michy Batshuayi who grabbed the only goal of the game - which proved to be the winner - as Belgium got off to a winning start to their World Cup campaign.

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In truth, Canada were the better side for large parts of the game as they made their first World Cup appearance since 1986.

Despite Alphonso Davies missing a penalty, the Canadians looked lethal going forward, but the all-important three points went Belgium’s way.

For Belgium, their superstar de Bruyne looked out of sorts, but was still named man of the match at full-time.

De Bruyne, who knows his quality on the ball all too well, was brutally honest about his own game after the match:

"I don't think I played a great game; I don’t know why I got the trophy. Maybe it is because of my name," the Manchester City star said post-match as per SportBible.

Fans on social media also shared the same sentiments, as they believed there were other players from both from the Canada and Belgium camps who had played better than de Bruyne.

Alphonso Davies’ exquisite skill

Sports Brief also reported on Alphonso Davies showing sublime skill to leave Belgium’s Youri Tielemans for dead on Wednesday.

Leicester City midfielder Tielemans had the unenviable task of matching up with the Ghanaian-born Canadian speedster, as his Belgium side aimed to win their first major trophy in Qatar.

In a video posted on Twitter, it's safe to say Tielemans quite literally collapsed after Davies pulled off the skilled move.

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Rene Otinga
Rene Otinga is a sports journalist with over eight years of working experience in digital media. Rene's experience includes working as a Copywriter at X News Kenya and TUKO.co.ke.