It’s not necessarily now or never for Belgium, but there’s no guarantee that a golden generation like this will come around again. And even now, many of those stars are either out of form (Romelu Lukaku and Eden Hazard) or past their prime (Jan Vertonghen and Dries Mertens). Still, no one would be surprised to see Belgium in the final—or win it, for that matter—after two solid World Cup runs that ended against World Cup finalists in Argentina and France.
At the last World Cup, Belgium came away with its best all-time finish (third) but was left wanting more in Russia after losing 1–0 in a tight semifinal match to eventual champion France. After losing to eventual Euro champion Italy in the Euro 2020 quarterfinals, its close-but-no cigar recent history was only compounded when it fell to France in the UEFA Nations League semifinals, blowing a 2–0 lead in epic fashion last October.
But Belgium will come into Qatar with some confidence and at No. 2 in the most recent FIFA world ranking. Roberto Martínez will surely have this group ready—Belgium has never missed a quarterfinal at a major tournament with him at the helm—as this golden generation makes its final World Cup stand.
