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The Belgium National Team have not qualified for the World Cup since 2002. They have a long history of never progressing beyond the second round of the Finals, barring a fourth place finish in 1986. A few years ago, football fans would struggle to name even a single Belgian player. But that could change in the near future.
Hailed as the golden generation of Belgian football, the current squad boasts of world class quality players. The likes of Vincent Kompany, Marouane Fellaini, Eden Hazard, Thomas Vermaelen, Moussa Dembele and Jan Vertonghen are all players who would strike fear in the hearts of any opposing teams. The fact that all these players are hailed as the future of their respective clubs shows us what this team can do. Given time to improve and mature, this team would have 10 to 15 world class players in their squad, with the talent to become world beaters.
Belgium’s national team players (2d row LtoR) midfielder Axel Witsel, Marouane Fellaini, Simon Mignolet, Nicolas Lombaerts and Jan Vertonghen, (1st row LtoR) Laurent Ciman, Eden Hazard, Timmy Simons, forward Moussa Dembele, forward Marvin Ogunjimi, and captain Vincent Kompany pose for a team picture prior to the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying match Germany vs Belgium on October 11, 2011 at the Esprit Arena in Duesseldorf, Germany.
The amazing fact is that they have world class players in almost all the positions. With Romelu Lukaku and Kevin Mirallas in the front and Dembele, Hazard, Witsel and Fellaini in midfield and Kompany, Vermaelen, Vertonghen forming a superb defence, these young guns are surely the future of Belgian Football, aren’t they? Few would disagree with me if I said this team has as much talent as any other European and South American footballing giant.
Every successful footballing nation has had a golden generation of footballers come to the forefront and they have been instrumental in the nation’s run to success. The current Spanish team, the Brazilian teams of the past are all prime examples of this. But the question that arises in the minds of every football fan is whether Belgium can win them their first FIFA World Cup or a European Championship.
Only time will tell.
“This generation will shine at their brightest in the years to come, as they’re still young and can improve a lot,” says current Belgian coach Marc Wilmots. I have a feeling a lot of people will have only realized these Premier League superstars are in one team and must be looking at it with new found respect. I will closely follow this team to see what kind of firepower they can bring about.
Known as the Red Devils of International football, in the years to come, this team can also become a household name like the Red Devils of Manchester did.
All that these young superstars lack is experience. If they make up for their experience with their talent, this team will be no push-overs come the World Cup in 2014. Even if they don’t make huge in-roads during the World Cup, we can all safely agree that in the years to come this young Belgian team will have the fire power to beat any team in the world.
