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BRUSSELS : Belgium coach Domenico Tedesco said he had learnt some valuable lessons from their 2-0 victory over Montenegro in their Euro 2024 warm-up international on Wednesday.
De Bruyne netted the opening goal in Brussels as he won his 100th cap and Leandro Trossard tucked away a stoppage time penalty for a win that never looked in doubt but was far from convincing ahead of the European Championship in Germany.
“I learned a lot today and with all the changes I made, but it was harder to keep the same structure after the break,” said Tedesco.
“We also had a harder time getting into the game, but after 75 minutes things went better again,” added the coach, whose side started well but were thwarted by an outstanding performance from Montenegro’s English-born goalkeeper Matija Sarkic.
Kevin De Bruyne was making his first appearance for more than a year for Belgium after a hamstring injury saw him miss half a season at Manchester City.
“I’m happy to be back. It’s been a long time,” he told reporters afterwards.
“It’s nice to be able to play my 100th cap here in Belgium. This is a good start and it was fun to score. We deservedly took the lead in the first half, but after the break things became a little more difficult due to the substitutions.
“It is important to get into a rhythm and get some automation in our play. It also takes some adjustment for me because I haven’t played much with this team yet,” he added.
“There were good moments, but there were also moments that could of course have been better. But we can build on this.”
Tedesco has another warm-up match on Saturday before the team heads off to Euro 2024.
“For the next match against Luxembourg, (striker Romelu) Lukaku will come back into the team to get some minutes. I will also adjust some other things, but we’ll see about that. In any case, I will not make six substitutions at half time again,” the coach said.
(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Toby Davis)
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