By Sam Toobin

RINTON, Washington, June 13 (Reuters) - Belgian playmaker Kevin De Bruyne is enjoying his role as one of the team's veterans, telling reporters on Saturday that he feels he can fully enjoy his fourth, and certainly final, appearance at the World Cup.

Ahead of Belgium's opening Group G match against Egypt next Monday, De Bruyne said his experience representing Belgium since 2010 will allow him to appreciate and make the most of this opportunity.

He said, "I think I'm probably at a stage in my career where I can enjoy it more."

"When you're younger, all you want is to play football and not get caught up in outside things, but I think now I can better understand what it means to represent your country for the fourth time (in the World Cup)."

"It is an honor for me to remain here after playing with the national team for almost 16 years, and this means that I have achieved a good feat!"

The Belgium vs. Egypt match brings together De Bruyne and Mohamed Salah, after they were for a long time on opposite sides in the Premier League top-of-the-table clash between De Bruyne’s former team Manchester City and Liverpool.

* Old rival

Salah is likely to pose the biggest threat within the Egyptian ranks, but De Bruyne said he is still looking forward to seeing his old rival.

De Bruyne said, "I played against Mohamed Salah for 10 years, and our children went to the same school, so I saw him from time to time. He's a really nice person."

He added, "It will be great to see him, and it will be great to compete again like in the old days."

De Bruyne also downplayed concerns about the possibility of Belgium's training sessions being watched, after Belgian media reported that additional fences had been erected around the team's camp outside Seattle.

He told reporters he was not worried about the issue, but noted it was good that rivals could not watch Belgium's training sessions.

He added, "I think it's also important for us that our training on something is somewhat special."

"It's somewhat important that we do things, and it's also important that we don't reveal any news to Egypt, Iran, or other teams. For me, this isn't a special matter, but that's all there is to it."