"I didn't do it before because I was young and I didn't have the profile I have now," De Bruyne, who turns 28 next Thursday on the same day Belgium play England in their final Group G fixture, told RTBF television.
Kevin de Bruyne, Eden Hazard and Axel Witsel werw hardly missed as Belgium looked a yard quicker, spread the ball around with ease and dealt competently with the occasional Russian threat.
A summary of Saturday's matches in the English Premier League.
Manchester United enjoyed perhaps their finest performance.
Later on Monday, Lukaku's brace helped Inter to a win over Napoli, taking them atop the standings on goal difference from Juventus.
Manchester United have scored 14 goals and earned maximum points from their four matches under interim boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Croatia's head coach Zlatko Dalic said as he prepares his side for Thursday's decisive Group F showdown.
Unbeaten Liverpool have 45 points from 17 games with champions Manchester City, who beat Everton 3-1 on Saturday, a point behind.
And what an exciting week it has been, with players returning to packed stadiums, some memorable individual and team performances and a medical incident which had the world on edge.
A makeshift England side beat Romania 1-0 in their final Euro 2020 warm-up game, while Belgium's Romelu Lukaku underlined his status as one of the world's top strikers with his 60th international goal to secure a 1-0 win over Croatia.
Sweden beat Italy 1-0 to gain the upperhand after their World Cup playoff first leg on a chilly night, while a young England side held Germany goalless and Belgium drew 3-3 with Mexico despite Romelu Lukaku's double but France eased to a 2-0 victory against Wales.
But after an exceptional transfer window and with Luciano Spalletti at the helm, Napoli dominated the title race while their main rivals all suffered slumps during the season.
Premier League rejected Chelsea request to postpone Wolves game, says Tuchel.
Belgium have retained injured Vincent Kompany in their final World Cup squad but put fellow defender Laurent Ciman on standby in case the Manchester City skipper is not fit for their opening match in Russia.
Chelsea moved 12 points clear of Arsenal, who suffered their fourth defeat in nine league matches, while fourth-placed Liverpool fell 13 point adrift after their wretched 2017 continued with a shock 2-0 defeat at resurgent Hull City.
Spain showed their remarkable potential under new coach Luis Enrique by destroying World Cup runners-up Croatia 6-0 on Tuesday to hand the visitors their biggest ever defeat and take control of their Nations League group.
Images from Sunday's Premier League action.
Although players have been allowed to start individual training, Italian Sports Minister Vincenzo Spadafora said it is too early to talk about the resumption of football season.
Eriksen is recovering at a nearby hospital and will have an implantable cardioverter defibrillator
A summary of Saturday's action in the 2024 UEFA European Football Championship qualifiers.
Manchester United pull off one of the greatest comebacks in Champions League history.
Manchester City set a new top-flight record of 15 consecutive wins as their seemingly unstoppable march towards the English Premier League title continued with a 4-0 romp at bottom club Swansea City.
Klopp says Liverpool's defending to blame for loss
The visitors got off to the perfect start when a mix up at the back saw Riyad Mahrez square for Jamie Vardy to tap into an open goal in front of the Kop in the third minute. Liverpool looked for an immediate riposte, but Salah missed two gilt-edged opportunities before Sadio Mane saw an effort disallowed for offside as Juergen Klopp's men grew frustrated.
The momentum that swept Leicester City away from relegation last season continued unabated at West Ham United on Saturday as their 2-1 win left them top of the Premier League.
Manchester United survived a tense finale to beat West Bromwich Albion 2-1 at the Hawthorns on Sunday and close to within 11 points of Premier League leaders Manchester City.
Manchester City took a major step towards retaining their Premier League title with a 1-0 win over second-placed Chelsea on Saturday, opening up a 13-point lead at the top of the table for Pep Guardiola's side.
The plucky underdogs were brought down to earth as Manchester City, Everton and Stoke City reached the League Cup semi-finals on Tuesday, ending the hopes of second-tier sides who felled fancied opponents in the last round.
Dries Mertens and Michy Batshuayi were also on target for Belgium while Eden Hazard impressed with creativity and speed for the hosts, who start their World Cup campaign on Monday against Panama in Sochi.
Chelsea striker Diego Costa is looking for a move away from Stamford Bridge after being told by manager Antonio Conte that the 28-year-old is not part of his plans at the Premier League club, the Spain international has said.
Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kante was named Player of the Year by the Premier League on Sunday, adding a third individual accolade to a list of achievements this season that includes winning a second consecutive Premier League title.
Summary of the Europa League semi-final matches played on Thursday.
Sweden missed out on the finals for the first time in 28 years on a night in which their fixture with Belgium was abandoned
Thorgan Hazard's first-half goal enabled Belgium score a 1-0 victory over defending champions Portugal in Euro 2020 last 16 match at Estadio La Cartuja in Seville, Spain, on Sunday. The victory set up a quarter-final against Italy.
Mourinho's side failed to turn their domination into more goals and things got edgy late on when Saville's shot evaded Gazzaniga who seemed slow to get down.
The Danish DBU football association tweeted that the Eriksen was 'awake and at Rigshospitalet for further examinations'
France meet Belgium in a World Cup semi-final on Tuesday. Here is a look at some of the key head-to-head duels which could prove decisive.
The tournament debutants held their own against a highly rated Belgian side in the first half in Sochi before a stunning volley from Dries Mertens and a Romelu Lukaku brace after the break helped the Europeans climb to the top of Group G.
Erling Haaland set another scoring record as Manchester City beat Bayern Munich
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