The Belgian press on both sides of the language divide were not impressed by the teams’ performance last night but the criticism was tempered by arguments that this was only a friendly and the World Cup was not due to start yet.
Vincent Kompany’s injury overshadowed events with confirmation of the extent of the injury due on Sunday.
In La Dernière Heure, the Football Editor commented that Radja Nainggolan would not have resolved the problems as Portugal allowed Belgium no space. Le Soir felt Eden Hazard was the only man to cause danger and quite liked Marouane Fellaini’s efforts when he came on for the second half. Het Laatste Nieuws’ saw Kevin De Bruyne as the main man but noted he was frustrated that Belgium lacked a cutting edge.
Overall, Dries Mertens and Yannick Carrasco were seen to be the least impressive of the Belgians. The defensive four, Hazard and De Bruyne were given the highest ratings, but not that high. On TV, pundit Philippe Albert said he could not remember seeing a Belgian side with such a lack of intensity. After the game Roberto Martinez singled out Adnan Januzaj for praise and also mentioned substitutes Christian Benteke and Nacer Chadli. All three seem certain to traveL.
| TEAM | Le Soir | DH | HLN | Average | |
| Courtois | 6.5 | 6.5 | 6 | 6.3 | |
| Alderweireld | 6.5 | 6 | 6 | 6.2 | |
| Kompany | 6.5 | 6 | 6.3 | ||
| Vertonghen | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6.7 | |
| Meunier | 5 | 6.5 | 5 | 5.5 | |
| Dembele | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5.3 | |
| De Bruyne | 5.5 | 6 | 7 | 6.2 | |
| Carrasco | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5.3 | |
| Mertens | 5.5 | 5 | 5 | 5.2 | |
| Lukaku R | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5.7 | |
| Hazard E | 7 | 5.5 | 6 | 6.2 | |
| Benteke | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5.3 | |
| Januzaj | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5.7 | |
| Chadli | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5.7 | |
| Fellaini | 5.5 | 6 | 5 | 5.5 |