Belgium are placed in Group G with Egypt, Iran and New Zealand, and the 62-year-old coach has set a clear goal of coming out on top in the group stage and securing a favourable draw for the next round.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cWe need to distinguish between our objective and our ambition. Our priority is to get through the group stage. Let\u2019s come out on top so that we earn a more favourable draw and, ideally, stay put [in Seattle for the Round of 32]. That will be the objective!\u201d Garcia told FIFA in an interview.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Belgium suffered a shocking group-stage exit at the Qatar 2022 World Cup but are in a much better place in the ongoing tournament, as their opponents are less experienced than they are. With 14 World Cup campaigns already under their belt, they possess vastly greater pedigree on the global stage than the rest of the group combined, eclipsing Egypt\u2019s three, Iran\u2019s six and New Zealand\u2019s two appearances to date.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Although the odds appear to be in their favour, Garcia is taking nothing for granted. \u201cWe have a huge amount of respect for the other three sides in our group,\u201d he stressed. \u201cThis is what the World Cup is all about. We know Egypt well; they\u2019re one of the best teams in Africa. I know all about Mo Salah as I coached him at Roma. We\u2019re also up against a team from Oceania and one from Asia. We\u2019re obviously less familiar with them as we don\u2019t see them play as often, but we\u2019re looking forward to finding out what the Iranian and New Zealand teams are made of.\u201d <\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cLet\u2019s start by respecting our group-stage opponents. Let\u2019s beat them, finish top of the group, and then we\u2019ll see how far we can go,\u201d he added. <\/p>\r\n\r\n
Garcia may be ambitious, but he is certainly under no illusions about the task ahead, well aware that Belgium \u2013 sitting ninth in the FIFA World Ranking ahead of their final warm-up matches \u2013 have lost some of their lustre since their legendary run in 2018.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cLet\u2019s start by respecting our group-stage opponents. Let\u2019s beat them, finish top of the group, and then we\u2019ll see how far we can go,\u201d he added. <\/p>\r\n\r\n
Nevertheless, the Red Devils\u2019 coach concluded with a defiant message: \u201cWe should fear nobody, that\u2019s for sure. I\u2019ve already told the players: we have to believe we can go toe-to-toe with any team.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n