Meunier Expected More Difficulties from Club Teammate Neymar

Belgium defender Thomas Meunier said in the post-match conference that he expected bigger difficulties to defend against Neymar in the quarter-final win over Brazil.

Football news: Brazil crash out of the World Cup after a 2-1 loss to Belgium

An own goal from Fernandinho and a superb strike from Kevin De Bruyne helped Belgium to take a two goal lead in the first half.

Renato Augusto’s header reduced the deficit in the second half, but Roberto Martinez’s men held on to secure a 2-1 victory at Kazan.

Meunier, who was playing as a right wing-back and was placed directly opposite to Neymar, said to the media that he is happy with the way his team has defended.

He also added that he was a bit surprised that he did not get enough tested by his Paris Saint-Germain teammate Neymar.

"I didn't expect that, I expected more difficulties, but we were so organised collectively," he said after the win.

"I always had help from Marouane Fellaini, from Toby Alderweireld. We were really focused on him, on [Philippe] Coutinho, on Marcelo, and we did a really wonderful job. I think we can congratulate ourselves for the job that we did defensively.

"Even offensively I got really frustrated because I didn't touch the ball. I made a lot of sacrifices for the team and I am happy that we won because of that."

The win helped Belgium to progress to the semi-final of the World Cup, first time ever since 1986. In the semis, they will face France, although Meunier will not be able to play the match due to suspension.

Jan Vertonghen, another defender of Belgium, said that the entire team believes that Didier Deschamps’ men will prove a tougher opposition than Brazil.

"I think France are a bit more complete than Brazil are," he said, "I think it will be harder to break them down."

The semi-final clash will be held on 10^th July at the St Petersburg stadium.