De Bruyne warns Turkey must share the burden carried by Arda Guler

Kevin De Bruyne has praised Arda Guler’s ability but says Turkey’s other players must take greater responsibility after Belgium’s 2-1 victory in the fifth round of the Nations League group stage.

The Belgium captain, who plays for Napoli, said his side had also focused much of its preparation on dealing with the Turkey forward.

“Arda Guler is a wonderful footballer, but I also believe his team-mates in the Turkey national team need to take more responsibility,” De Bruyne told reporters. “All the responsibility is currently falling on Arda.”

He added: “We also built all our plans around Arda Guler.”

Belgium found the opening stages difficult, with De Bruyne acknowledging that the team struggled both collectively and individually before recovering during the match.

“I think the first 15 or 20 minutes were difficult,” he said. “We suffered a little as a team and individually, but I believe we showed a good reaction.”

Turkey pushed forward in search of a late response, committing its attacking options in an attempt to get back into the game. De Bruyne said Belgium coped with that pressure and received valuable support from Sena.

“In the end, Turkey tried to press us and throw all of its attacking options forward, but we got good support from Sena,” he said. “It was a great victory.”

France lead the group with 10 points, while Italy have dropped to third place on 7 points ahead of their meeting.

Belgium will face Italy on 15 November in their final match, with the result crucial to the qualification battle. France, meanwhile, will host Turkey.