The technical director of Belgium, Roberto Martinez, knows the old sport adage that "winning is not everything, it is the only thing", but he will not apply it when his team faces England to decide the top spot in Group G of Russia 2018.
Normally, a clash between European neighbors for a top spot in a World Cup would give rise to clichés of "winning at all costs", but since Belgium and England have already secured a place in the round of 16, Martinez is looking at the opponents he will have later on.
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However, his thinking contrasts with that of the England manager, Gareth Southgate, who made it clear that his squad will seek victory to gain momentum for the knockout stage.
"Tomorrow we want to have a good performance, but winning is not the priority," Martinez said on Wednesday at the pre-match press conference. "The reality is that we are in the situation we wanted to qualify and we have done that."
For Martinez, it is better to protect the cautioned Belgium players, such as defender Jan Vertonghen, winger Thomas Meunier, and midfielder Kevin De Bruyne. "There are players with yellow cards and I don't think it's professional for us to put those players at risk of missing the knockout stage," he said.
(Source: Reuters)
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