Football pundit Gabby Agbonlahor has questioned FIFA World Cup officials’ decision to hand Kevin de Bruyne the Man of the Match trophy in Belgium’s win over Canada.
The English pundit has speculated that the winners are selected ahead of the match and not based on performance.
Belgium edged out a 1-0 win over Canada on Wednesday night (November 23), with Michy Batshuayi scoring the lone goal. The former Chelsea striker scored in the first half after the North American side missed a penalty in the 8th minute.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Agbonlahor and Ally McCoist admitted they were stunned to see De Bruyne win the Man of the Match trophy. The host questioned the decision and said:
“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.”
Agbonlahor admitted that he was also not happy with the decision and said:
“Al, please don’t get me started mate on that. 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’.”
He added:
“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.”
Kevin de Bruyne shocked at winning Man of the Match trophy at FIFA World Cup
Kevin de Bruyne was the first to admit that he did not have a great game. He was surprised to be named the Man of the Match following Belgium’s win over Canada in their FIFA World Cup opener.
The Belgian claimed he was handed the trophy because of his past performances and said:
“I don’t think I played a great game. I don’t know why I got the trophy, maybe it’s because of the name. I just don’t think we played well enough as a team, especially in the first half. I don’t think we found solution and we started really bad. The momentum was with Canada and we didn’t find the way to break through their press.”
Belgium next face Morocco in the FIFA World Cup on Sunday (November 27).