Roberto Martinez said his future as Belgium head coach will only be discussed after the World Cup later this year, having watching his side beat Poland 1-0 in the Nations League.
Michy Batshuayi’s first-half header helped Belgium to their second win of this Nations League campaign, although they still trail the Netherlands by three points in Group A4 after being thrashed 4-1 by Louis van Gaal’s men in their opening game earlier this month.
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Results such as that one, as well as Belgium’s failure to lift a major trophy despite producing a supposed ‘golden generation’ of talent, have led to suggestions Martinez’s job could be under threat.
But the former Everton manager will only entertain questions over his future after leading the Red Devils to the World Cup in Qatar.
“That will be the right decision [to discuss the future after the tournament],” he said. “Not for me as a coach, but for Belgian football.
“Everyone can be sure, my only will and wish is that we will see Belgium as strong as possible at the World Cup.
“I want to make the fans as proud as possible. All my work will go into this in the coming months.
“We’ll see after the World Cup. In international football, it is logical that you look at it from major tournament to major tournament. There is nothing strange about that.”
Belgium will face Canada, Morocco and Croatia in Group F in Qatar, having finished third in Russia in 2018.
Martinez’s team were comfortable for long periods against Poland, limiting their hosts to just two shots on target and only allowing Robert Lewandowski one attempt throughout the game.
Jumping into holidays in style pic.twitter.com/NPqrz9lkqR
— Michy Batshuayi (@mbatshuayi) June 14, 2022
But Belgium almost conceded a dramatic equaliser when Karol Swiderski twice went close in the dying stages, and Martinez was delighted with the character his team displayed when clinging on for the win.
The Red Devils have claimed seven points from their first four Nations League games this month, and the coach believes the matches have proven valuable as they build towards their trip to Qatar.
“We defended well and showed a lot of personality,” Martinez said. “It is even more satisfying to win like this than [if] it was a simple victory.
“These matches were used to gather information for the World Cup, and we got it.
“The results weren’t always good, but perfection doesn’t exist. Not in football and not in life. The reaction after Wales [a 1-1 draw last week] was there. I remember that.”
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