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He hit the headlines after Belgium’s win over Senegal
Belgium coach Rudy Garcia has retracted his controversial comments following his side’s dramatic win over Senegal to book a place at the 2026 World Cup finals.
Rudy Garcia hit the headlines after Belgium’s 3-2 win over Senegal when the Red Devils manager criticized the tactics of his colleague Pape Tiau.
“We know these teams, they lose their tactical organization late in the game. We also knew that when they were 2-0 up, they would do everything to defend their goal, which I think was a big mistake. They reminded me that when we’re 2-0 up, we shouldn’t do it because when you concede a goal like you did when it was 2-1, it changes the whole game.”
Garcia was criticized for these statements, which many considered contempt for Senegal and even the national teams of the African continent.
According to the website “Miss MercatoGarcia denied those statements.
When the Senegalese journalist pressed him for that answer, the French coach retracted his words.
“No, no, I didn’t say that. You’re misunderstanding what I’m saying. I said that when you’re in the lead, and that goes for every team in the world, you tend to back off and try to defend your goal. So we pushed forward and they retreated.”
“In fact, if we hadn’t scored our goal to make it 2-1, I don’t think we would have ever come back. But when two teams score in the game and the score becomes 2-1, the course of the game changes completely and the positive comes from the Belgian side and the negative comes from Senegal.
“Then, honestly, in overtime, it was like two boxers. The two teams exchanged punches. After that, I think the penalty was justified and we obviously won because of it.”
“Since you are from the Senegalese press, Senegal deserves to be highlighted as much as we have deserved it. But we’re very happy to be highlighted because we’ve come a long way.”
It is noteworthy that Tiau was asked at the press conference about Rudy Garcia’s statements Laird: “This is his opinion, not mine at all. Because we were in a good position. It’s easier to talk after winning.”
