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Belgium has been one of the best teams in the world over the last decade and has continued to grow from strength to strength. Roberto Matinez’s side is the currently the highest ranked team on FIFA’s World Ranking.
To add to their No.1 ranking, the Red Devils have been dominant on the international scene, having lost just once since November 2018. In fact, their record in the last two years has been nothing short of stupendous.
In that period, Belgium have played 18 competitive and friendly games, winning 16 of them and losing just once. The phenomenal streak has included victories over England and Denmark.
Yet, for all the talent at the team’s disposal, the golden generation of Belgian players haven’t been able to bring home a trophy. They came close at the 2018 FIFA World Cup but couldn’t get past eventual champions France in the semi-final.
Time to break the trophy jinx
As it stands, Belgium’s best performance at major tournament remains third-place finishes at the 1972 European Championship and the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Ten years ago, this would have been acceptable, but for the current set of gifted players, it is an underachievement.
The country boasts some of the best players in the world. The likes of Kevin De Brunye, Romelu Lukaku, Dries Mertens and Eden Hazard are top players who would walk into any other starting lineup.
Together with Thibaut Courtois, Jan Vertonghen, Toby Alderweireld and Youri Tielemans, they form Belgium’s golden generation. However, they are gradually running out of time to win a trophy.
Fortunately, the 2020-21 UEFA Nations League presents the perfect opportunity for Martinez and his side to break the trophy drought. Having qualified for the play-offs of the tournament, Belgium will compete against France, Italy, and Spain for the coveted trophy.
Belgium are as good as any side in the world
Player for player, Belgium easily outshines the aforementioned nations and should be able to get the desired results when the UEFA Nations League returns next year.
“This is only the second edition but when you look at the teams in the final four, this has quickly become a prestigious competition,” Martinez said after Wednesday’s 4-2 win against Denmark.
“It’s a tournament with quality of opponents that you want to be facing, with a semi-final and final against these sort of teams. For us, these are games that we need. You only get this kind of knockout games in big tournaments, so I’m a big fan of this competition."
Indeed, these are the games that Belgium should relish. They have very good players and a very talented manager to boot. It’s time for them to stand up and be counted by making the UEFA Nations League their first ever major trophy.
