The Golden generation of Belgium has their last opportunity at glory at the World Cup with the likes of Kevin De Bruyne in their prime. Belgium’s hold on the top spot in FIFA’s world rankings has been compromised by its inability to defeat a top 10 nation for more than a year. The Belgium team that defeated Brazil and England en route to finishing third at the 2014 World Cup in Russia is not the same team that did so.
Due to his injury history and little playing time for Real Madrid, captain Eden Hazard’s position on the club has come under scrutiny. Since moving from Chelsea to Los Blancos in 2019, he has only started 41 games. Although he acknowledges it is doubtful the 31-year-old would be able to play in all the games, head coach Roberto Martinez has given the player his complete support.
Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld, former teammates at Tottenham, are still important cornerstones of Belgium’s defense at ages 35 and 33. It will be interesting to see if they can still perform at the level needed to keep Belgium competitive in the later stages while representing Benfica and Royal Antwerp, respectively. Perhaps, as seen by the last 13 games’ two clean sheets. A new crop of players is contending for the top spot even if some of Belgium’s golden generation’s stars are beginning to fade. Leandro Trossard, who is certainly not young at 27 years old, has flourished at Brighton and is off to a strong start this season. He is undoubtedly vying for Hazard’s starting position in Qatar.
Amadou Onana of Everton and Charles De Ketelaere of AC Milan are two new candidates. Belgium should advance from Group F, but they have tough matches coming up against Croatia, Canada, and Morocco. The biggest obstacle in Belgium’s quest to finish first in their group is Croatia, who were World Cup champions in 2018. after Spain eliminated them from the 2021 Euros in a thrilling eight-goal, extra-time match at the last-16 round.
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