The confidence barometer dropped a bit this weekend. After another defeat against the Netherlands, the optimism about the World Cup chances of the Red Devils feels very low. “And that makes sense,” commentator Peter Vandenbempt says.
Before Russia was the sky the limit. Compatriots everywhere dreamed aloud of a historic world title. Now, four years later, many are more than satisfied with a quarterfinal.
Against the Netherlands, faith got another dent on Sunday. Peter Vandenbempt also notices that the mood is completely different.
“The great confidence is a lot less”, he nods. “We have not yet been able to flush the disappointment of the previous European Championship. Since July 2021, we have barely won half of the matches. Those were often victories against countries of the Estonia and Burkina Faso level. We went down against all the big stars – such as the Netherlands, Italy and France.”
“That’s not illogical either,” Vandenbempt continues. “Because Belgium has lost quality over the past four years. We used to have four or five world class players, no doubt. There are now only two left: Courtois and De Bruyne. They have to be at their absolute peak to have a chance.”
Hazard in Lukaku
At Eden Hazard, the decline is even so great that, despite his enormous merits and status, there is a lot of criticism of his starting places. “It is legitimate to question Hazard as a holder,” said Vandenbempt.
“It doesn’t look like he will suddenly be playing a lot at Real in the coming months. And unlike in the past, there is no run-up period to the World Cup. We have to burn the thickest candle possible that Hazard will still make progress. Now you even notice that opponents are no longer impressed by him. The Netherlands released him and just focused on De Bruyne.”
Without Lukaku you shouldn’t even start in Qatar.
Our analyst sees that all creativity at the Devils now has to come from KDB. Certainly without Lukaku, he calls the situation “problematic”.
“Without Lukaku you shouldn’t even start in Qatar. Everyone is praising Batshuayi as the goalscorer, but when you see his non-match from yesterday… That’s worrying. After Lukaku, there is a huge void in the rush hour.”
Still some hope
And then there is perhaps the biggest concern: the Devil’s defence, which just can’t keep the zero.
“We don’t have an incontournable Vincent Kompany and we can no longer count on Thomas Vermaelen”, Vandenbempt realizes. “Then our defense stood like a house with world-class defenders. Boyata and Denayer were looked at for the succession, but they could not convince and are now not even fit. The match against the Netherlands also made it clear that the World Cup is coming too early for Debast.”
To counter the doom and gloom, I also look at the competitors at the World Cup.
Finally, Vandenbempt still provides some hope.
“Because to counter the doom and gloom, I also look at the competitors at the World Cup. I see the Germans lose to the Hungarians. The English lose twice against that same country and are relegated from the A-group of the Nations League. Spain loses Switzerland and the French have a mega problem on and off the field with their injured.”
“Let’s say that the Belgians are not alone with problems, if that is any consolation.”
