Belgium’s golden generation have a golden opportunity

Belgium may have one of the smallest populations of any team at this World Cup, but they proved they can win it all in beating Brazil.

Some measure the achievements of international soccer teams on the population of their homeland. The methodology of this is somewhat flawed, given how many factors lead to the cultivation of a strong side, but it can offer a convenient yardstick for success, at least in the case of Belgium.

A country with the population of Sao Paulo shouldn’t have been able to topple a soccer behemoth like Brazil in the quarterfinals of a World Cup. The selecao, harvested from a crop of over 200 million soccer-crazy inhabitants, should have been nailed on winners against Belgium, a country of just 11 million people. But this is where the World Cup has a way of disrupting this way of thinking.

Belgium might just be the best team in international soccer at this moment. After years of discussing golden generations and gloriously intangible potential, their quarterfinal win over Brazil finally put down a marker. It set a benchmark for what this group of players can be and what they might become.

A team often defined by what they aren’t rather than what they are, Belgium demonstrated with their quarterfinal victory why they deserve to be considered among the frontrunners at this summer’s World Cup. Kevin De Bruyne finally showed the kind of form that made him a shining light for Manchester City in the Premier League last season, with Eden Hazard looking every bit a future Galactico in his performance.

Then there was Romelu Lukaku, a player frequently typecast as a lumbering frontman, a striker to hit with long balls. Roberto Martinez made the madcap decision to use the Manchester United forward as something of a right winger, with De Bruyne playing through the middle and Hazard on the left. It was an inspired call, with Lukaku crucial in driving Belgium up the pitch on the rapid counter-attack.

This was a coming of age moment, not just for the Belgian players on the pitch, but for the Spanish manager on the touchline as well. Skepticism of Martinez has threatened to overwhelm Belgium more than once over the past two years. Fans and media back home doubted his qualifications, questioning whether mixed stints at Everton and Wigan gave him the right to coach the best generation of Belgian soccer players in history. Martinez finally found justification against Brazil.

Of course, the knives will be sharpened once more if Belgium’s World Cup ends at the semifinal stage. This is a group of players expected to win this tournament, not just make the final four and so the pressure won’t ease until De Bruyne, Hazard, Lukaku and co. get their hands on the famous, gold trophy on July 15.

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In France, Belgium will face a reflection of themselves in the semifinals. For Les Bleus, this is also a golden generation, a group of players who are expected to scale the heights of international soccer, but have so far failed to fulfill their very obvious promise. Didier Deschamps, like Martinez, has faced intense scrutiny of his management, with some suggesting the 49-year-old is out of his depth.

While Belgium’s statement win at this World Cup came in the quarterfinals, France’s came in the round of 16, when Kylian Mbappe propelled them to a 4-3 victory over Argentina. In that match, they finally flexed their muscle, particularly in the final third, where Antoine Griezmann, Paul Pogba and Mbappe were unleashed.

If that happens again, and if Belgium can pick up where they left off against Brazil, then Tuesday’s semifinal could be a match for the ages, maybe even the defining clash of this World Cup. Both sides find themselves in a similar situation having faced similar challenges. Of course, in population terms, France will be the favorites. It’s just as well for Belgium this rarely decides much at the World Cup, as they’ve already shown.