World Cup 2022 – After Croatia – Belgium 0-0: The spoiled end of an (almost) golden generation

Shortly after the final whistle of the match against Croatia (0-0), a word quickly flourished on the sites of our Belgian colleagues: “End”. Not the end of everything, of course. But the end of many things. The end of the World Cup in Qatar, already, which will certainly not enter the history books of the country. But also the end of the Roberto Martinez era, the coach of the Red Devils having announced his departure at a press conference. The latter, probably aware of the end of a whole so-called “golden” generation, and therefore the end of a cycle, decided to say stop. “It’s over, it’s a shame, we wanted to go much further, for us, for the Belgian people, for everyone“, summed up Jérémy Doku after the meeting.

At the Ahmad-bin-Ali stadium, the Belgian supporters, who came to see their selection win a qualification in the round of 16, finally attended the funeral of its golden generation, a sad farewell for players who will have taken Belgian football to the highest level. since 2016. So no need to hide it, and those concerned have not done so throughout the competition, the team which had occupied first place in the FIFA rankings for more than three years, from 2019 until last spring, arrived in Qatar full of doubts. The era of the quarters of the 2014 World Cup and the Euros 2016 then 2020, passing by the third place of the 2018 World Cup, has never seemed so far away. The atmosphere, tense and morose, it acted as a ball and chain throughout the World Cup.

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Eden Hazard, captain most often stuck on the bench of Real Madrid for the past three seasons, lacked the rhythm that had made him the twirling symbol of spectacular Belgium and dominating Brazil in the quarterfinals of the 2018 World Cup. He ended up losing his place, his position and his armband, which he nevertheless recovered from Kevin De Bruyne when he entered at the very end of the match. More symbolic than anything else for a player who will celebrate his 32nd birthday next January. For him, in selection as in club, there are only memories.

Romelu Lukaku, cursed with Belgium against Croatia

Credit: Getty Images

Romelu Lukaku, his striker and top scorer in the history of the selection (65 goals), was recovering from a thigh injury and, against the Croats, he will have missed three huge chances, who could have qualified his team. A nightmare in prime time. And tears in mondovision. “Big Rom” will have to recover, especially mentally, he who had an injury-ridden start to the season for his return to Inter Milan. The World Cup did not reverse the trend.

The defense, which had already suffered from the retirements of Vincent Kompany and Thomas Vermaelen, has been criticized for its slowness, sometimes rightly so. But the thirties Jan Vertonghen (35) and Toby Alderweireld (33), well protected by goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, will however have conceded only one goal in three games. But that will not have changed anything in the sad, almost inevitable epilogue, which awaited Devils paler than ever. If the two defenders may have played their last major tournament, Hazard and De Bruyne have not yet decided on the rest of their international careers. Courtois and Lukaku, they should continue the adventure.

A generation that deserves “respect and admiration”

Almost moved to tears at a press conference, the resigning Roberto Martinez, who will have spent six years at the head of the national team of which he took the reins in 2016 following Marc Wilmots, in addition to the role of technical director of the Federation, made a point of paying tribute to his family. And especially to the older ones who accompanied him. “I say goodbye to the national team, and it’s full of emotion as you can imagine“, he said in a press conference. Too bad to end like this because, as Martinez points out, this generation deserves “respect et admiration“. The “gang of friends“, according to captain Hazard, however, experienced “tensions“, he admitted shortly after.

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And now ? “When it’s the end of something, it’s the beginning of another. The next generation has a lot of qualitytee,” Thorgan Hazard warned. “There are a lot of players who cried, it’s the last for some players, it’s the World Cup, it’s not a friendly match. It’s every four years and it’s normal that there are a lot of regrets“, recognized Michy Batshuayi for his part. Thibaut Courtois has it too.

“Golden, it’s a little hard to tell if you don’t win anythingcursed the goalkeeper to beIN Sports. We are not a golden generation, we are a generation with a lot of talent, great players all over Europe. We showed in Russia that we were a Belgium that played good football. Today and at the Euro, we weren’t ourselves, it’s a shame.”

From now on, a new dynasty will have to assume the heavy heritage of this so-called golden generation but which will ultimately have won nothing. Will the new ones have the talent of their elders? The answer belongs to Théate, Trossard, Faes, De Ketelaere and other Onana.

(With AFP)

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