World Cup 2022: Belgium - the old, sick devils

Traveling to Qatar, Belgium is considered by experts to be one of the strongest candidates for the championship title. Besides the position of the team that won 3rd place at the 2018 World Cup, coach Roberto Martinez has a series of famous players such as Thibaut Courtois, Jan Vertonghen, Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku.

The disappointment of Belgian players after losing to Morocco. Photo: Getty

However, things are not going as expected. In the opening match against Canada, Eden Hazard and his teammates had to work very hard to win with a narrow score of 1 - 0. To be fair, Belgium did not deserve to win 3 points in this match. Do not forget, goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois successfully blocked Alphonso Davies' penalty kick at the beginning of the first half.

In the second match, Belgium's weakness was fully exploited by their opponents. With a poor playing style, coach Roberto Martinez's team could not penetrate the well-organized defense of the representative from Africa. Not only that, mistakes by goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and the defenders playing in front of them caused them to receive 2 quick goals.

Through the two matches against Canada and Morocco, it can be seen that the age burden of the players is eroding the strength of the team nicknamed "Red Devils". According to statistics, Belgium ranks 5th among the teams with the highest average age at the 2022 World Cup (27.8 years old). It is easy to understand why coach Roberto Martinez's students were "torn to pieces" by the players of Canada and Morocco.

Captain Eden Hazard's form is at an alarming level. Photo: Getty

If we had to pick the weakest link in Belgium's crumbling machine, it would be Eden Hazard. Despite his role as the "leader of the pack", the former Chelsea player has been playing rather poorly. In desperation, coach Roberto Martinez had to take the superstar wearing the number 10 shirt off the field early, even though the team was at a disadvantage. It is no coincidence that Eden Hazard has not been valued by coach Carlo Ancelotti at Real Madrid.

Before the match against Morocco in the second match of Group F, Kevin De Bruyne had to sadly admit: "Belgium has no chance of winning the World Cup, we are too old". Now even the ability to pass the group stage of coach Roberto Martinez and his team is being questioned. If they fail to defeat Croatia in the upcoming match, Belgium will almost certainly have to say goodbye to Qatar sooner than expected.