Belgium coach: proud of what we achieved in the World Cup qualifiers

Belgium coach Roberto Martinez said his team had performed well and proved their worth to become the first European team to secure the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Belgium qualified for the finals for the second time in a row, after reaching the quarter-finals in Brazil 2014, after Sunday's win away to Greece 2-1, and to secure the top of Group H.

Yesterday's win also boosted the unbeaten run to 11 games in a row, matching the previous best for the team.

"We have to be proud that we are the first European team to qualify for the finals and now we have to move to work more seriously to improve our performance," Martinez said after lifting his team to 22 points, eight points ahead of the nearest two.

"It was clear that we did not perform well and we were not in our nature, but the goal was to win the game that was a final cup, and the goal was not to provide a beautiful ball, and we had to win in any way and perhaps gave us the worst performance during this Qualifying in the first half. "

The Belgian win came with two goals in the second half, from Jan Verterton and Romilo Lucaco.

"I'm really proud of the way the players played," said Martinez. "This is a team and I can only be proud of its players."

"The players were not happy during the break and in their reaction we find we have a team that can win. The players showed a distinct personality and inspired each other. Their desire to win was clear. In just a few weeks no one would remember how to win."

Yesterday's win means Belgium won seven of their eight qualifying matches and a home draw with Greece in March.

In the current European qualifiers, Belgium outperform all the teams in the number of goals after their players have shaken their opponents' nets 35 times.