Youri Tielemans has played down talks of a rift with teammate Leandro Trossard following their on-field scuffle during Belgium’s round-of-32 World Cup win against Senegal.
Tielemans and Trossard clashed during the second-half hydration break with Belgium down 2-0. The two angrily yelled at each other and had to be kept apart by teammates Romelu Lukaku and Nicolas Raskin. At one point, Trossard was even seen shoving Tielemans.
The tension, however, fuelled the Red Devils’ comeback. Lukaku grabbed a goal back in the 86th minute and three minutes later Tielemans headed in a dramatic equaliser from a Trossard cross. During the celebrations, the Aston Villa midfielder sought out Trossard and lifted him up.
Tielemans’ goal forced the game into extra-time and his 125th minute penalty — the latest goal in World Cup history — secured Belgium’s place in the round of 16.
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When asked about his scuffle with Trossard post-match, the midfielder said: “No, look, those are the emotions of the moment. We’re all winners. We all want to win. To do things right. To represent our country well, that’s all part of it. That’s part of football.
“Afterwards, there was no issue. So yeah, just a match.”
Belgium boss Rudi Garcia reflected the sentiments of his captain and spoke of wanting his team to carry this “fighting spirit” into the next round. Their win over Senegal has set up a meeting with co-hosts United States in the round of 16.
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“It shows we have a team with real spirit,” Garcia said of the Tielemans and Trossard scuffle.
“Players are allowed to disagree, they’re allowed to trade heated words. Leandro and Youri are two very important players for the Belgian national team. They wanted to win so badly. I don’t even know what the argument was about but I like it.
“I want players who are ready to flip the table when things aren’t going right. Because on the pitch, we need that. We need that fighting spirit.”
