Kevin De Bruyne has been one of the best players at Euro 2024.
Against Slovakia, Romania and Ukraine, De Bruyne has stood out as Belgium’s best player.
However, the £54.5 million man’s side have flattered to deceive in Germany — winning, losing and drawing one game in Group E of the tournament. Domenico Tedesco’s side have been profligate in front of goal in particular — with Romelu Lukaku missing six big chances in three outings so far, as per talkSPORT.
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Kevin De Bruyne records rare statistic at Euro 2024
As Belgium face France in the Round of 16 on Monday, the odds are stacked against them to say the least.
Didier Deschamps’ side are accustomed to playing knockout matches and more often than not, they come out on top — due to a combination of their remarkable squad, blend of youth and experience and pragmatic tactics that suit tournament football.
However, the same can be said about De Bruyne, who has played in several high-stakes games in his career, especially for Manchester City.
Regardless of how Belgium fare against France, the midfield maestro can look back at his displays at the European Championship with his head held up high.
During the group stage, it has emerged that De Bruyne (11) was one of the three players to create 10 or more goalscoring chances — alongside Denmark and Manchester United’s Christian Eriksen (13) and Turkey and Fenerbahce’s Ferdi Kadioglou (10).
Even during Belgium’s 0-0 draw against Ukraine on Wednesday, the 32-year-old created a brilliant chance for Lukaku at the start of the game — weaving his way past a few players before playing an inch-perfect through ball.
However, the Roma striker completely miskicked the ball and fluffed his lines yet again.
Kevin De Bruyne will have to play out of his skin against France
If Belgium are to defeat France, De Bruyne will have to have the game of his life.
Football is not played on paper but a few underwhelming showings do not change the fact that this French side is elite.
The Belgians will have to be nigh-on perfect in every department to stand a chance of going through to the quarter-finals.
But their talismanic skipper in De Bruyne will have to pick his moments to weave his magic — whether that is through creating a high-quality chance, scoring a stunner or simply running the show for Belgium to beat France at the Düsseldorf Arena.