De Bruyne backs Belgium to become a 'fabulous' national team

Aug 9, 2012 3:05:00 PM

The Chelsea winger is pleased to see more Belgian players establishing themselves in top leagues abroad and has set his sights on qualifying for the 2014 World Cup as a first step

Werder Bremen loanee Kevin De Bruyne believes that Belgium can become a powerful force in international football and challenge for major trophies.

The winger, who is on loan from Chelsea, thinks that moving from the domestic league in Belgium to bigger leagues across Europe is an important factor in the development of the country's players.

Qualification for the 2014 World Cup, he feels, would be another significant step for the national team.

"It's true; in the past years many dared to take that step abroad and were successful," De Bruyne told spox.com. "Now we have to find ourselves as a team and start playing together.

"We can be a fabulous national team. Maybe we can already succeed in qualifying for the World Cup in 2014. That would be important for the whole country."

De Bruyne is hoping to gain experience in a top European league during his time with the Bundesliga club and admitted that he sought the advice of Marko Marin, who left Bremen for Chelsea earlier in the summer, before completing the switch.

"I've spoken to Marko about it, that's normal," he revealed.

"But my own and my family's opinions were essential. You should be able to stand behind a decision more than 100 per cent, and then I'm sure everything will turn out fine."

His career in Germany got off to a positive start as the Weserstadion club defeated defending champions Borussia Dortmund on penalties to win the Liga Total-Cup, a small pre-season competition contested by four top German sides.

"It was OK, and we can continue like that," he reflected. "In modern football it's all about having the ball, and Bremen did a good job in this respect.

"Particularly the first 20 minutes against Dortmund we played well, only when we conceded we didn't look that good as a team."

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