ST PETERSBURG, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Belgium could make football history on Tuesday when they play France in their World Cup semi-final in the St Petersburg Arena looking to get to the final for the first time in their history and coach Roberto Martinez knows the importance of what his side could achieve.
"It is a unique opportunity for all of the team and all of Belgium, and a reward for all that has been done over the last 15 years. It is a unique opportunity to go to a World Cup and even more to be in a semi-final against France," he said.
Martinez rejected the idea that his side had peaked in their quarter-final win over Brazil and said there was no chance of them dropping their guard on Tuesday.
"When you are in the semi-final of the World Cup, it is a unique moment, you don't switch off," he said, "when you face a team like France, you know you have to concentrate for 90 minutes, this is not the kind of game where you can think what you did before against Brazil will help you," said the Belgium coach.
He praised the adaptability of his squad after changing system from a 3-man to a 4-man defense against Brazil.
"That is the quality of this group, they have the capacity to change... In internationals you only have one or two sessions to prepare a game and the intelligence of the team is a big help," said Martinez, who also highlighted the unity in the Belgium squad.
"It has been a shared effort, that has been the key of our world cup campaign. 20 players have started at least one game and they have all contributed," he explained.
