MX23RW : Wednesday, May 22 05:09:03| >> :600:458196:458196:

Roberto Martinez: 'Belgium must learn from England's Golden Generation'

Belgium manager Roberto Martinez insists that his young Red Devils cannot make the same mistakes as England's 'Golden Generation'.

Belgium coach Roberto Martinez has revealed that the team are learning from the failure of England's 'Golden Generation' to succeed on the international stage.

England's squad in the first decade of the 21st century had high expectations placed on their shoulders, with the likes of David Beckham, Paul Scholes, John Terry, Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard all featuring for the Three Lions.

The team never achieved any international success, however, and Martinez wants to avoid a similar fate for his Belgian stars.

"You do try to find out what stopped England going on to achieve something," the former Everton boss told reporters.

"Over a lot of years, you speak to people, who played against that team or were in the ­dressing room, and you're trying to find reasons. It's very difficult when ­something hasn't really clicked – it's very interesting. There are many dressing rooms, many teams, because it doesn't just happen at ­international level, it happens at club level. And there is never one ­reason why things don't click into place. It's almost a combination of things that, for one reason, go the wrong way and it almost becomes a negative ­momentum. What you learn is that you need to find the level of commitment of everyone to become a team.

"I'm not bothered by the label one way or the other, but to be the Golden Generation, you need to win gold. You need to win the Olympic gold or the World Cup, you need to win something. We need to make it a Golden Generation. You get to ­international level and the ­margin for error is very, very ­little because straightaway you are in the knockout phase.

"Even if you lose a game in the group phase, you are going to be against it to try to qualify. That means you have to have a real strong mentality to make it competitive. The tactical and technical aspects of the game are important, but it is almost ­more important to be right psychologically for the occasion."

Belgium will face England, Panama and Tunisia in the group stages of the World Cup next month.

ID:326926: cacheID:326926:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:3506:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Belgium manager Roberto Martinez on November 9, 2016
Read Next:
Martinez extends deal with Belgium
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
CManchester CityMan City38287396346291
2Arsenal38285591296289
3Liverpool382410486414582
4Aston Villa382081076611568
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs382061274611366
6Chelsea381891177631463
7Newcastle UnitedNewcastle381861485622360
8Manchester UnitedMan Utd38186145758-160
9West Ham UnitedWest Ham381410146074-1452
10Crystal Palace381310155758-149
11Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton381212145562-748
12Bournemouth38139165467-1348
13Fulham38138175561-647
14Wolverhampton WanderersWolves38137185065-1546
15Everton38139164051-1140
16Brentford38109195665-939
17Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest3899204967-1832
RLuton TownLuton3868245285-3326
RBurnley3859244178-3724
RSheffield UnitedSheff Utd38372835104-6916


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!