After Kevin De Bruyne won the award against Canada, Gabby Agbonlahor has jokingly said that the Man of the Match must have been “picked before the games.”
Kevin De Bruyne est élu HOMME DU MATCH 🇧🇪⭐️ pic.twitter.com/D3moNGEedh
— Actu Foot (@ActuFoot_) November 23, 2022
Michy Batshuayi’s goal shortly before halftime gave Belgium a slim World Cup victory on Wednesday, but Roberto Martinez’s team struggled for the majority of the match.
Another World Cup shock looked nailed on as Belgium struggled to contain the tournament’s novices.
Thibaut Courtois had to step up to save Alphonso Davies’ penalty to keep the score level.
Even Manchester City star De Bruyne looked off the pace in his country’s opening game in Group F. However, the playmaker was still awarded Man of the Match.
The decision raised a few eyebrows, including talkSPORT’s Ally McCoist and Gabby Agbonlahor.
What Gabby Agbonlahor Said
“Gabby I’m not having you give Kevin De Bruyne Man of the Match last night [on talkSPORT], what were you watching?” McCoist questioned on Thursday’s Breakfast show.
“Al, please don’t get me started mate on that,” ex-England striker Gabby replied.
“I said about Gareth Bale being one of the worst players on the pitch for the Wales v USA game.
“I feel like they’re picking Man of the Match before kick-off. ‘You know the star player, ok he’s going to be Man of the Match no matter what he does’.
“De Bruyne, it was the worst I’ve seen him play. Every time he got the ball his passing was off, his through balls were off.”
McCoist continued: “We know as well as the next man or woman that De Bruyne is a fantastic player, out of this world.
Was he the best player on the pitch in this particular game? No chance.”
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The talkSPORT pair weren’t alone in being confused by De Bruyne winning the award either, with the star himself admitting he didn’t understand it.
Kevin De Bruyne on being named player of the match:
“I don’t think I played a great game. I don’t know why I got the trophy. Maybe it’s because of my name.” pic.twitter.com/JLvhOo3Iiz
— B/R Football (@brfootball) November 23, 2022
“We didn’t play well enough as a team. I do not know why I won man of the match, maybe because of my name,” he said after full-time.
“Credit to Canada. We could not get through their press, we did not play a good game today, me included but we found a way to win.”
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