Napoli, Mertens: "Ancelotti called me, but I am thinking of the World Cup"

Dries Mertens reflected on a bittersweet season for Napoli when he spoke to Belgian publication Sporza, touching on all subjects from the scudetto race to the World Cup with Belgium. Here is what he had to say: "Above all it was a tough season mentally, we reached 91 points and still didn't win the scudetto. It is something that has never happened in Italy, it hurts. Now I will think of the World Cup with Belgium. Ancelotti? He called me, but I didn't speak to him too long. He seems to be a friendly man, but I told him that my mind is now only on the World Cup, I am only thinking of this. The Inter-Juve game? We watched the game from our hotel and when Inter was in the lead we were euphoric. Then we received a blow. But I don't think we lost the title there. If we would have finished with 96 points, Juventus would have reached 98. Their players are stronger than us mentally. We have a young squad and we have to learn from our errors. One thing is for sure: I will not watch the games live on TV anymore. World Cup? Obviously I would like to play, but the most important thing is the group. There is the need for everyone to sacrifice, me being the first one, but it has always been like this throughout my career. It is up to me to prove that I deserve a starting shirt."