In a recent interview, the Belgium playmaker said the team ranked second in the world had “no chance” of winning the World Cup because “we’re too old”.

The entire Belgium team played badly for a second successive game in Qatar that was decided by goals from the Morocco duo of Romain Saïss and Zakaria Aboukhlal.

“This is the first time I’ve heard those comments,” said Martínez, the Belgium head coach. “At a World Cup players have to speak to the media every day, 90% of it will be positive but there are always one or two lines that don’t fit into the context.