Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.
Despite a 5-0 win over 10-man Tunisia in their final pre-World Cup friendly, Rudi Garcia warned Belgium against getting complacent in defence.
The Red Devils enjoyed a dominant first half, though they only led 1-0 at the break, with Leandro Trossard getting the goal in the 28th minute.
However, after Charles De Ketelaere added their second and Ismael Gharbi was sent off, the floodgates opened.
Kevin De Bruyne, Dodi Lukebakio and Nicolas Raskin all got on the scoresheet, and Belgium finished the match with 27 shots on goal worth 4.1 expected goals (xG), with 12 shots on target.
At the other end, Tunisia only accumulated 0.3 xG from seven shots, getting only one on target, though they did also hit the woodwork.
Garcia switched back to a four-man defence, having seen a successful trial with three at the back during their 2-0 win over Croatia, and he sees lessons to be learned from how they played against Tunisia.
“It is a wake-up call. It is sometimes good for a coach to be able to emphasise that the players must always be focused, always go to the limit,” Garcia said.
“I told them that I was not satisfied and that they needed to pull themselves together.
The perfect send-off ahead of the World Cup. pic.twitter.com/f7b3bPmozD
— Belgian Red Devils (@BelRedDevils) June 7, 2026
“Between minutes 55 and 60, we lost the ball. It was just like in training. We defended with six, not eleven.
“It should be the other way around. We even almost let Tunisia get back into the match. Afterwards, we recovered.
“We won’t win 5-0 every time at the World Cup. Don’t forget that we also played against ten men for a long time.
“But okay, we have gained confidence, and everyone has been able to get some minutes. Morale is pretty much at maximum. And I think we can do even better.”
Belgium will not travel to Seattle on Monday, with their Group G opener against Belgium taking place on June 15. They also face Iran and New Zealand in their other group-stage fixtures.
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