'We could have played without Courtois' – Garcia defends goalless Belgium display
Belgium missed the opportunity to move to the top of Group J in World Cup qualifying after a 0-0 draw at home against North Macedonia.
Rudi Garcia defended his Belgium side after their 0-0 draw against North Macedonia in World Cup qualifying, claiming “we could even have played without Thibaut Courtois”.
Despite a fine performance from Jeremy Doku on the left wing and a strong showing from Kevin De Bruyne, Belgium failed to find their way past Stole Dimitrievski, who made five saves for the visitors on Friday.
The Red Devils accumulated 2.85 expected goals (xG) from 25 shots compared to their opponents’ 0.06 from three attempts, but could not find the goal that would have sent them to the top of Group J.
Belgium remain second in the group, one point behind North Macedonia with a game in hand, while Wales are just two points behind the leaders.
Despite their unsuccessful efforts in Ghent, Garcia does not think his players could have done much more to win the game.
He said: “It's not a poor performance because overall we played the game I expected from my team.
“On the other hand, it's a poor result given the way the match played out.
“I think we did what we needed to win this match, except for the fact that we didn't get our shots on target enough. Five out of twenty-five in total. So, yes, we dominated this match.
“We were good at counter-pressing and winning the ball back high. We could even have played without Thibaut Courtois, we didn't concede anything in the game. I don't have much to criticise my players for.”
Belgium will now prepare for a trip to Wales for what could be a crucial match in Group J on Monday.
Garcia believes their next match will be more open and better suited for his side due to what is on the line for both teams.
“We're not first, as I had hoped, but we still have a game in hand than North Macedonia,” Garcia added.
“In Cardiff, the opposition will be completely different. Because Wales needs to win. They will be a team that will perhaps apply more pressure and offer more athleticism.
“But we will have to stay ourselves and play our game. We will certainly have more space to exploit.”
