VIDEO. Ex-Red Devil Kevin Mirallas returns to non-selection for 2018 World Cup: “Selfish, but I didn’t want Belgium to win”

He is now technical director at Eendracht Aalst in the second national team, a few years ago he could still call himself a Red Devil: Kevin Mirallas (36) recalled with Eleven Insiders his non-selection for the Belgian national team in the run-up to the 2018 World Cup in Russia. “I was in shock.”

“When the selection was announced, I was sitting on the beach with my wife and children. Half an hour before the announcement I still had not received a phone call (from then national coach Roberto Martinez, ed.) But I kept calm. I was convinced that I would go to the World Cup. My wife was already looking for holiday destinations, depending on whether we would push through or not. When I was in the water, my wife shouted that I had a phone call. When it turned out to be Roberto Martinez, I could already see the mood brewing. My face also completely changed. He said that there were many injured people and that he therefore chose to include more defenders in the selection. Origi, Nainggolan and I eventually dropped out. Obviously I didn’t know what to say, although it’s useless to ask for an explanation. Martinez said he respected me too much to take me as a backup. That would have been too heavy for me, he judged,” said Mirallas, who did not agree with it.

“Why don’t you take me as a backup?” I asked. “But he didn’t answer that. That hit hard. I hung up the phone, told my wife and was in shock for three days. Mentally, that was a bitter pill to swallow. Especially because it subsequently became a great World Cup for our country (Belgium made it to the semi-finals, ed.) “It’s selfish, but I didn’t want the Red Devils to win the World Cup at the time,” Mirallas says a little later. “How should I have dealt with it if they did win? That would have been very difficult because I was passed. When they were eliminated, I was of course sad but at the same time relieved because I could also have been champion,” said Mirallas, who collected 60 caps for the national team.

An excerpt from the podcast:

The full episode (in French):

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