By: Kelvin Omachonu
The 2022 FIFA World Cup is in full swing already, and after about two weeks of action, some teams seem to be distinguishing themselves from the rest. Prior to the Mundial in Qatar, a lot of fans had different expectations from different countries- especially when pedigree and form are both taken into consideration.
Former winners France have a very strong squad, but after some of their biggest stars like Paul Pogba, Ngolo Kante, Karim Benzema, and Raphael Varane began to pull out because of injury, a title defense began to seem like a facade. In fact, a few touted them to follow the path of the previous two World Cup winners, who got knocked out in the first round in the course of defending their title. However, Le bleu have since put doubters to rest after their dominant opening-day win over Australia.
Other top countries like Brazil, Portugal, Argentina, Spain, England, and Belgium were also tipped to lift the trophy because of the quality inherent in their squads. While most of these teams have lived up to the billing, others have flattered to deceive.
Belgium were one of the favorites heading into the World Cup, but they have been largely underwhelming. The Red Devils struggled to beat Canada by a lone goal in their first games but they fell to a 2-0 loss to Morocco in their second fixture.
The loss to Morocco seemed like an upset when you judge by the names of the players in their squad, but maybe it is not. Part of the reason why Belgium were considered favorites coming into the World Cup was because of their names but not necessarily because of the World Cup.
At the last World Cup in Russia, Belgium were massive favourites because they were ranked number one at the time by FIFA, and they had some of the biggest players in the world. Still, their journey was painfully ended in the semi-finals.
This year most of those big players are still available, but they are no longer big players. Most of them are now big names.
Belgium’s most trusted center-backs are in the twilight of their career- 33-year-old Toby Alderweireld plays for Royal Antwerp in the Jupiler League while Jan Vertonghen is at Anderlecht. Both players were at Tottenham during the last World Cup.
Even De Bruyne, prior to their game against Morocco, affirmed that his side are too old to win the Mundial.
“We are too old, our best chance to win the World Cup was 2018,” he said. Even Vertonghen shared similar thoughts after their loss to Morocco.
“I guess we attack badly because we’re also too old upfront. We didn’t create enough chances. We conceded the same goal twice at the near post,” Vertonghen said.
Thomas Meunier was playing at PSG during the last World Cup, but he had to leave for Borussia Dortmund because he lost his place in the team. Then, Timothy Castagne is not the most reliable left-back at the moment.
In midfield, Amadou Onana is highly rated, but he is still inexperienced and has a lot to learn, and Axel Witsel is not exactly one of the best in the world.
In attack, Eden Hazard has struggled and fumbled since he joined Real Madrid three years ago, making just 72 appearances. He is the major engine room for Belgium, and his decline over the years would surely tell on the team.
Lukaku is miles off the player that scored 27 goals in 51 appearances for Manchester United in the 2017/18 season. In fact, the only that is still at the peak of his powers is Kevin De Bruyne.
Leandro Trossard, Jeremy Doku, Charles De Keteleare, and Tielemans are all decent players, but when compared with the quality of players in some of the big teams at the World Cup, these players are paces off.
As it stands, Belgium have to beat Croatia in their final game to stand a chance of qualifying for the next round. If they don’t, they would be depending on the result of Morocco’s game against Canada to move to the next round.
Still if they manage to qualify from group F, it would be difficult for them to stand up to the big boys at the World Cup as one thing is clear- the golden generation is over, and the Red Devils need to rebuild.
