Dries Mertens’ wife Kat Kerkhofs reveals details of ‘really awkward’ Belgium barbeque

The wife of Belgium striker Dries Mertens has shed more light on the tension in the country’s camp during the World Cup, as she claimed a team barbecue held after three players were involved in a dressing room clash following their defeat to Morocco was ‘really uncomfortable’ ‘ used to be. ‘.

An inquest into Belgium’s 2-0 defeat at the hands of Morocco saw Kevin De Bruyne, Jan Vertonghen and Eden Hazard clash in the dressing room after the Qatar match.

Striker Romelu Lukaku had to pull apart his teammates as desperate players tried to calm the situation at the Al Thumama stadium, according to RTL Sport.

It came after Vertonghen appeared to aim a joke at De Bruyne in his post-match interview in response to controversial comments from the Manchester City star, who said the Belgian side had ‘no chance’ of winning the World Cup because they were ‘too old’.

Kat Kerkhofs, Mertens’ wife, has revealed that the issues on the side were also apparent during a barbecue at their team’s hotel, the Hilton Salwa Beach, just hours after the three players were involved in an apparent altercation.

“That was really uncomfortable,” says Kerkhofs to the MIDMID MONDIAL podcast. “The players were logically still very disappointed.”

Dries Mertens’ wife Kat Kerkhofs said a team BBQ after Morocco defeat was uncomfortable

Defender Jan Vertonghen (left) and Kevin de Bruyne (right) were among the players involved in the dressing room clash

Tensions between the players boiled over after their shock 2-0 defeat to Morocco

However, Kerkhofs also claimed that the players were ‘sweet’ to each other the morning after the game.

“But I thought it was strange to read that there are tensions within the group,” she added.

‘The next morning everyone said goodbye with a kiss. They all do. So I think they’re all super sweet to each other.’

Tension in the camp had increased after De Bruyne rejected his ‘aging’ Belgian side’s chances of winning the World Cup in Qatar.

Speaking after Group F’s loss to Morocco, Vertonghen appeared to be referring to his teammates’ surprising comments.

Kerkhofs claimed that the players were ‘sweet’ to each other the morning after Morocco’s defeat

“We’re probably also attacking badly because we’re too old, it must be now, right?” said Vertonghen.

“We have a lot of quality up front, but so does Morocco, and they came out better. This is very frustrating.’

De Bruyne was also criticized by the Belgian press after photos shared by the Belgian Football Association showed the 31-year-old’s poor body language before Sunday’s match started.

Belgium’s Twitter account posted a photo from inside a pre-match huddle ahead of the game in Morocco, where substitute Lukaku held a pre-match team chat with his squad.

De Bruyne is the only player not to embrace the rest of his team in the image, standing with his arms at his sides, seemingly motionless as Lukaku speaks.

De Bruyne was an isolated figure in Belgium’s pre-match group before their defeat to Morocco on Sunday

The photo was picked up by the Belgian website HLNwith former Red Devils striker Gilles De Bilde picking it apart in his post-match analysis.

De Bilde added that De Bruyne’s frustrations rubbed off on others, saying “He’s the best player in this squad, but he’s frustrating the others and is frustrated because it’s not working himself.” And that’s not a good sign.’

Belgium had arrived in Qatar hoping to live up to their title of ‘golden generation’ by winning the World Cup for the first time in the country’s history.

But the defeat to Morocco – and the way they were soundly beaten by the outsiders – has put their hopes on the line and they face a battle to qualify for the last 16.

Belgium will drop out of the tournament if it loses to Croatia in the last group match on Thursday.

The Red Devils will also be eliminated if they draw with Croatia and Morocco avoid defeat in their duel with Canada.

The surprise defeat against Morocco has shaken Belgium’s hopes of qualifying for the knockout phase