Belgium isn’t the trendy World Cup pick anymore.

A few years ago, everybody talked themselves into it. The names were ridiculous. Eden Hazard carving teams apart. Kevin De Bruyne seeing passes nobody else even considered. Romelu Lukaku running through defenders. Thibaut Courtois erasing mistakes behind a back line full of guys who’d seen every bit of tournament soccer imaginable.

That version of Belgium felt dangerous before the match even started. This one feels... different.

Some of the old stars are still here. De Bruyne’s still pulling the strings. Lukaku’s still around. Courtois is still one of the best goalkeepers on the planet when healthy. Axel Witsel is somehow still showing up to major tournaments like he signed a lifetime contract with the national team.

But the golden generation? The full version of it? Yeah, that’s gone.

Hazard’s retired. Kompany’s moved into coaching. Vertonghen and Alderweireld aren’t holding the back line together anymore. Mertens, Fellaini, Dembélé, and the rest of that era have mostly become memories people bring up when talking about what Belgium used to be.

And honestly, that’s what makes this team so fascinating heading into this World Cup.

Belgium doesn’t have the same aura anymore, but the pressure never really left. Nobody’s treating them like France, Spain, Brazil, or Argentina heading into this tournament. They’re not the sexy almost-favorite everybody’s trying to hype into a finals run.

But nobody’s looking at a group with Egypt, Iran, and New Zealand and saying, “Eh, it’s fine if Belgium flames out early. They’re rebuilding.”

No chance.

The Golden Generation Was Real

It’s become really easy to talk about Belgium’s golden generation like they were some overhyped team that never actually accomplished anything. That’s not really fair.

Sure, they never won the World Cup or a Euro. When you’ve got Hazard, De Bruyne, Lukaku, Courtois, Kompany, Vertonghen, Alderweireld, Witsel, Mertens, and that whole group together at once, people are always going to ask where the trophy is. That comes with the territory.

But acting like the era was some massive failure misses the point.

Belgium finished third at the 2018 World Cup, still the best finish in the country’s history. They beat Brazil in the quarterfinals and looked completely comfortable doing it. Then they lost 1-0 to France in the semifinal, and France went on to win the whole thing.

That team was legit.

For a stretch, Belgium wasn’t just talented. They were one of the teams nobody wanted to see in the knockout rounds. They had elite talent all over the field, a real identity, and enough attacking firepower that one mistake could turn into a goal instantly.

That’s hard to build. And honestly, that’s the real problem now.

Belgium isn’t just replacing great players. They’re trying to replace the standard those players created.

The Window Didn’t Close Quietly

Golden generations usually don’t end with some perfect little handoff to the next group. Those stories are the outliers.

Players age differently. Some stick around too long. Some leave earlier than expected. Teams convince themselves there’s still one more run left even after their best games are in the rearview.

Belgium lived all of that.

After the 2018 peak, the decline came in stages. Quarterfinal exit at Euro 2020. Group-stage exit at the 2022 World Cup. Then a round-of-16 loss to France at Euro 2024 on a late Jan Vertonghen goal.

That’s a rough way for an era to fade out.

The 2022 World Cup was probably the clearest sign the old version had run out of gas. Belgium beat Canada, but it never felt convincing. Then Morocco beat them 2-0, Croatia held them scoreless, and suddenly they were heading home early.

Even De Bruyne basically admitted it before the tournament when he said Belgium was “too old.” Harsh? Sure. But the tournament kind of proved him right.

The Old Names Are Still Doing A Lot Of Work

This is supposed to be Belgium’s next chapter, but look at the core.

Courtois in goal. De Bruyne in midfield. Lukaku up top. Witsel still hanging around. Belgium is trying to move forward, but they’re still leaning heavily on the old era.

And honestly, that’s not a horrible thing.

If those guys are healthy, Belgium is better because of it. De Bruyne can still completely change a game with one pass, even when the rest of the performance feels clunky. Lukaku, when fully right, still gives them a real focal point up top.

The problem is the “when fully right” part.

Lukaku’s recent injury issues make him harder to trust than he used to be, and Belgium’s attack looks very different if he’s limited. Suddenly, they’re asking a younger group to create and finish more than they probably want to.

Courtois brings another layer to all of this because his return wasn’t exactly smooth either. After his fallout with Domenico Tedesco, Belgium brought him back under new manager Rudi Garcia, and it created more drama when Koen Casteels stepped away from the national team over how the situation was handled.

They’re managing the leftovers of an era that still hasn’t completely let go.

Good luck with that.

The Talent Is Still There, The Fear Factor Isn’t

Jeremy Doku gives Belgium something every tournament team wants: a winger who can make defenders panic. He’s not Eden Hazard, but who is? Hazard controlled games differently. Doku’s more explosive, more direct, a little more chaotic.

And sometimes chaos is exactly what wins tournament matches.

Charles De Ketelaere is another important piece because Belgium needs more from the next wave than just “promising moments.” He scored twice in the qualifier against Liechtenstein, which obviously isn’t the toughest test in the world, but at some point these younger guys have to stop feeling like supporting characters and start deciding games.

Same goes for Amadou Onana. Belgium’s old midfield was built around technical quality and control. This version needs legs. It needs somebody who can cover ground and keep every possession from turning into “save us, Kevin.”

Belgium is still good. They’re just not intimidating in the same way anymore.

This Isn’t Trophy Or Bust Anymore

Belgium doesn’t have to win the World Cup for this tournament to feel successful. That old golden generation carried true championship-or-bust pressure because the roster demanded it. This group doesn’t quite live in that tier.

But “not a favorite” doesn’t mean “no expectations.”

The bar is different now. It’s less about winning the whole thing and more about proving this is still a real team, not just the leftovers of a great one.

They need Doku to become more than an exciting winger. They need Onana to bring the legs this midfield eventually lost. They need De Ketelaere, Trossard, Tielemans, and the rest of the group to stop feeling like supporting pieces and start taking over stretches of matches.

Most of all, they need this tournament to feel like the beginning of something instead of one last reunion tour.

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