Tottenham's Nabil Bentaleb rues defeat by Belgium in ‘friendly’ clash

 
Short lived joy: Algeria celebrate taking the lead
GETTY
Vivek Choudhary18 June 2014

Tottenham midfielder Nabil Bentaleb claimed Algeria deserved at least a point after suffering a 2-1 defeat in their World Cup opener.

It felt like a Londoners’ get-together at the Estadio Mineirao here in Belo Horizonte, with Bentaleb facing Spurs club-mates Jan Vertonghen, Mousa Dembele and Nacer Chadli. Chelsea trio Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku and Thibaut Courtois also featured in Belgium’s side.

Making his World Cup debut, Bentaleb, 19, gave an accomplished performance that far exceeded his years as he helped keep the Belgians at bay for much of the game. After taking a 25th-minute lead through a penalty by Sofiane Feghouli, who was pulled back in the box by Vertonghen, Algeria made Belgium look almost mediocre.

Bentaleb said: “This was a match that we did not deserve to lose. We played one of the favourites of this tournament. Belgium have some fantastic players, some of whom I know very well so I know what they can do. But you also saw what Algeria are capable of.”

Continuing the London connection, Algeria were captained by former Charlton defender Majid Bouguerra, who will retire from international football once the tournament is over.

Bouguerra said: “It was very hard on us. For most of the game we were in control, we have let three points slip out our grasp.”

Tottenham's players at the 2014 World Cup

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The match turned on three substitutions made by Belgian manager Marc Wilmots, who took off the ineffective Chadli at half-time for Dries Mertens.

Midway through the second half, Manchester United’s Marouane Fellaini came on for Dembele, with Lukaku replaced by Divock Origi.

The changes proved to be decisive, with Fellaini scoring the equaliser after 70 minutes and Mertens latching onto a Hazard through ball in the 80th minute to fire the winning goal.

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