Vermijl bemoans Belgium exit

Marnick Vermijl believes Belgium's UEFA European Under-19 Championship campaign has come to a premature end as his side finished bottom of Group B.

The defender cancelled out Andrej Mrkela's early opener for Serbia on Matchday 3 in Buftea, but the Red Devils were unable to find a winning goal and bowed out having taken two points from their three games in Romania. "We all thought we could get through and we had enough chances to win today," Vermijl told UEFA.com.

"We made a terrible start but we came back strongly, the first half was quite even but we were the better side in the second half. We have a strong team so we're disappointed to have gone out." Marc Van Geersom's team opened their finals with a 4-1 loss to Spain before salvaging a 1-1 draw against Turkey, finishing both games with ten men, and both the coach and Vermijl pointed to those red cards as a major contribution to their early exit.

"We've learned that it's very difficult to come back with ten men, even though we did well in both matches when we were a man short," the right-back said. "In all three games we've shown character, we have a strong group and we stick together. It's been a good experience.

"For a country like Belgium, getting to a European Championship is always a big achievement and I'm glad to have been here," added Vermijl, who played in seven of the nine games over the season, scoring twice. "It's good to get to know other countries, a EURO is always something special so it was a nice experience for me and the whole team, but we leave disappointed because we thought we were good enough to get to the semi-finals.

"Although everyone here has plenty of quality, Spain are the strongest but the other two teams in our group were on a similar level to us – we're just as strong as them and we could have beaten them both." Vermijl must put his disappointment behind him quickly, however, as he returns to Manchester United FC, whom he joined from R. Standard de Liège last July, looking to push on after a season in the reserves.

"Now I'll go home, have one day with my family and then it's back to Manchester," he explained. "I hope to get a game in the League Cup, and to get into the first team. I need to get stronger, train every day as hard as I can and work to earn a first-team opportunity. United are one of the top teams in the world but I'll have my chances."