Coming into this tournament, Belgium had something of a harsh reputation as underachievers. After all, this was supposed to be Belgium’s ‘Golden Generation’.
And before we consider whether it was truly golden, it’s worth pointing out how clearly defined this generation is. Extraordinarily, all eight of Belgium’s all-time most-capped players were in this World Cup squad.
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It seems that the golden generation tag has become so over-used that neutrals now actively want those sides to fail. And if you’re really a golden generation, shouldn’t you win gold?
OK, Belgium haven’t managed to reach a final with this current group of talent, with the latest exit — sealed by the 0-0 draw with Croatia — prompting the end of Roberto Martinez’s reign. But the nature of the draw plays a major part in any major tournament, and at World Cup 2018 and Euro 2020, Belgium were only eliminated by the eventual winners, France and Italy, by a one-goal margin in the semi-final and quarter-final respectively.
At the World Cup in Russia, they were unfortunate to be on the wrong half of the draw, essentially penalised for finishing ahead of England in the group stage. They needed to beat Japan, Brazil and France to reach the final. England lucked out, getting Colombia, Sweden and Croatia. You wonder what might have happened had Belgium not beaten England in the final, meaningless group fixture.
They’ve often been entertaining, too. Their 3-2 victory over Japan four years ago was one of the most thrilling matches of World Cup 2018. Martinez’s use of Kevin De Bruyne as a false nine and Romelu Lukaku on the right shocked Brazil, the favourites, in the quarter-final. Belgium counter-attacked brilliantly in the opening half hour, then held on for a 2-1 win. Last year, their 2-1 defeat to Italy was probably the most open encounter from the quarter-finals onwards, in what ended up becoming a rather defensive tournament.
It’s worth remembering the extent to which Belgium had struggled in the decade beforehand. They didn’t qualify for any tournament between World Cup 2002 and World Cup 2014, which is crazy in hindsight, but felt normal at the time. Belgium didn’t have any good players. ‘Golden generations’ must be considered in relation to the country’s historic record.
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Maybe attitudes towards sides like this have surely shifted over time. There’s now an obsession with teams ‘bottling it’ rather than appreciation of what they did achieve. You could draw a comparison between Belgium and, for example, the Denmark side of the 1980s, which featured the likes of Michael Laudrup, Preben Elkjaer, Soren Lerby, Frank Arnesen and Morten Olsen. They reached the semi-finals of Euro ’84, and the second round of World Cup ’86, which is nothing spectacular, but they remain fondly remembered, in part because of their style of play. No one looks down on them because they didn’t win anything.
There’s the mitigation. Here comes the criticism.
At World Cup 2022 Belgium have been wretched, a shadow of the side they were four years ago, and far worse than the sum of their parts. Perhaps only Denmark have been more underwhelming, and even then, their struggles were probably more understandable given their lack of top-class players in the final third. Belgium cannot make that excuse. You sense that if Denmark had another three games, results would eventually pick up. If Belgium had another three games, they’d probably look more disjointed.
Their display against Canada, in a fortunate 1-0 victory, was the most individualistic of this tournament. The absence of Lukaku meant Michy Batshuayi started up front, and while he scored the only goal from a curiously direct route one move, latching onto Toby Alderweireld’s long ball, he caused Belgium serious problems. His lack of link play is extraordinary, and he has absolutely no relationship with De Bruyne.
This pass map, showing how frequently players passed to each other in the Belgium-Canada game, highlights how isolated Michy Batshuayi was.
There’s an argument that De Bruyne is currently the best footballer in the world for a speedy striker to play in advance of, yet Batshuayi couldn’t read him at all. When De Bruyne played the ball in behind, Batshuayi was coming short. When Batshuayi came short, De Bruyne wanted to play a killer ball. Eden Hazard went on a couple of good dribbles, but seemed to be attacking solo.
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Belgium made Canada, who certainly performed well on the day, look like world-beaters, and were fortunate that Alphonso Davies missed an early penalty. In what was essentially a clash of similar systems, 3-4-3 versus 3-4-3, Belgium lost individual battles. Martinez used a curious tactic, getting central midfielder Youri Tielemans to drift over to the right to form an overload down Canada’s left. But Belgium didn’t retain possession effectively enough for this to work, and often Axel Witsel was exposed in front of the defence.
Against Morocco, Belgium were even flatter. Martinez’s side would have hoped to push five attackers high up the pitch to overload Morocco’s back four, but simply seemed incapable of shifting the opposition defence. Only a couple of balls out to right wing-back Thomas Meunier caused issues, and his crosses were poor. Batshuayi, having completed only nine passes against Canada, managed just seven against Morocco, completely detached from his team-mates.
One incident summed things up — when De Bruyne trotted over to take a free kick from near the corner flag on the left-hand side. It was the perfect angle for a fizzed cross, and Belgium brought their centre-backs and Witsel forward from the back. De Bruyne decided to shoot. His team-mates in the middle were exasperated. Again, it smacked of individualism.
Morocco deserved the three points.
For the crucial meeting with Croatia, which Belgium knew they would probably have to win, Martinez made major changes. Batshuayi, despite scoring Belgium’s only goal in the competition so far, was dropped — demonstrating the extent to which he’d become a problem. Both Hazards were also left out.
Martinez used a curious formation, a blend of a back four and a back five, with Yannick Carrasco tasked with marking Luka Modric without the ball, then pushing wide when Belgium won possession. It blunted Croatia, but did little to help Belgium’s attacking cohesion. Alderweireld was Belgium’s most prominent playmaker with his long balls over the top for runners. It was 0-0 at half-time, no shots on target.
Belgium’s average position map from the Croatia game shows Carrasco pushed high and wide on the left.
Croatia seemed to figure out how to get past Belgium’s defensive block — down the flanks — and had a spell of pressure after half-time.
And then, midway through the second half, Belgium had their best spell of the tournament. It coincided with the introduction of a presumably half-fit Lukaku, and De Bruyne being pushed into a No 10 role. De Bruyne slipped in Carrasco who ran in behind, and the ball spun nicely for Lukaku to smash against the post.
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De Bruyne then sprinted down the left and his deflected cross prompted Lukaku to head over, although the ball might have already been out. Lukaku later turned the ball wide from Meunier’s stabbed cross and then, in the last minute, managed to simply chest down a Thorgan Hazard cross when it seemed impossible to miss.
Belgium, in the end, had enough chances to win it. But ultimately, they looked dangerous going forward in just one of their six halves at this tournament. They deserved to be eliminated.
It is always something of a cliche to suggest that it was a side’s “last chance” to win a major tournament, and it’s always something of a guess, too. The next major tournament is only 18 months away. But this generation has certainly already peaked. They are increasingly less fancied with every passing competition.
A triumph in Qatar was probably always beyond Belgium. The sad thing, though, is that this failure might not simply define Belgium’s World Cup 2022, but this entire era — it has solidified the existing impression of this group, as the underachievers of their generation.
(Top photo: Manuel Reino Berengui/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
