New Delhi: A disappointing Euro 2024 run and further adding to Belgium’s miseries was last night’s 1-0 defeat against Italy that confirmed that Belgium will no longer progress further into the knockout rounds of Nations League. Things are truly falling apart for the Belgian Red Devils and once the number one ranked nation in world football are now going down the ranks rapidly. There are certain factors that are making Domenico Tedesco’s side extremely vulnerable on the pitch, and the flair that everyone could witness a few years back, isn’t quite there at the moment in Belgium’s playing style.
These factors have been exposed and their downfall started during their horrendous FIFA World Cup 2022 run, where the Belgians couldn’t even make it past the group stages after some shocking performances. They have maintained their reputation as one of the favourites to win any international major tournament but since the Qatar World cup, they have somehow managed to exit each of the major international competitons early, without giving a real fight to the contenders.
There was a time when Belgium’s results automatically titled them as European giants, after their run of consecutive victories where they managed to defeat some of the big nations too. However, these days Tedesco’s side find it difficult to maintain the consistency and produce good performances on the pitch. There are areas that have truly affected the Belgians in the past few years, and so far Domenico Tedesco hasn’t quite found solutions to these problems.
Lacking defence
Wout Faes playing for Belgium national team (via @PropsMelo)
The Belgians have had a few good strong defenders play for them and the 2018 World Cup’s wonderful run involved the presence of Vincent Kompany, Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen and Axel Witsel’s astonishing defensive presence in the squad. While some of these players are still a part of the current squad, the veterans are way past their prime and despite the leadership factor, fresh legs are very much needed for the Belgians to compete in top international tournament against the very best footballing nations.
However, with the amount of talent that Belgium have produced over the years, it is hard to deny that the current squad has barely covered up the absence of legendary defender Kompany and, ageing Alderweireld, Witsel and Vertonghen, who produced great service to their nation over the years. It is fair to say that the inclusion of Wout Faes, Arthur Theate and Zeno Debast hasn’t quite worked out for Tedesco, and ageing Timothy Castagne might not be the most suitable to match the high speed of the wingers of other nations.
Above all, the main conclusion is to bring in further fresh legs onto the pitch and try to ge the most out of the current players who need to buckle up as we head towards the 2026 World Cup.
Wastefulness upfront
Romelu Lukaku of Belgium reacts during the UEFA EURO 2024 group stage match between Belgium and Romania (Photo by Image Photo Agency/Getty Images)
Last few tournaments have suggested a major problem for the Belgians, and that is their wastefulness in front the goal, which has costed them a numerous big matches. Belgium have had some extra-ordinary attacking talents over the years which sort of eliminated their concerns of scoring goals. This statement has truly been backed by the Belgian national side, as they have produced attacking talents such as Romelu Lukaku, who is their all time top scorer, Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne, Yannick Carrasco, Thorgan Hazard, Kevin Mirallas and many more, who have proven themselves to be quite handy for their national side.
However, in Belgium’s recent encounters and participation in big international tournaments have suggested that the spark in their attacking prospects is nowhere close to how it used to be. Missing big chances, lacking the creative touch and not getting the end product has been their recent situation. Many Belgian fans have been frustrated by the absolute wastefulness in front of goal by their all time top scorer, Romelu Lukaku, who at the moment seems like he just can’t get the job done for Tedesco’s side. He was exposed during the World Cup 2022, where played a major part in Belgium’s early exit from the campaign, missing major clear cut chances during the crucial stages.
The big Belgian’s poor form continued as things did not get better for the former Chelsea striker as he lacked in the sharpness that you need from a top class striker during the Euros 2024 campaign. However, Belgium’s next generation of attackers does look a little promising with the emergence of players like Jeremy Doku, Charles De Ketelaere, Lois Openda and Johan Bakayoko, but somehow it still feels like a climb on a mountain to get Belgium’s former attacking prowess back into their game.
Poor results against big nations
FT: Belgium 0-1 Italy
Italy are in PRIME position to finish FIRST place in Nations League with one game to go 🇮🇹
Next match: FRANCE 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/N9wXG10e6t
— Italian Football TV (@IFTVofficial) November 14, 2024
Belgium have been extremely inconsistent with their results lately and for a team that went 23 games unbeaten from the year 2016 to 2018. However, their form against top nations has not looked convincing at all, with recent defeats against France and Italy. It all started during Euros, where their progress was slowed by the a shock defeat by the hands of the underdogs, Slovakia. However, they somehow managed to to make it out of the group only to lose in the round of 16 tie against France.
Their recent disappointment yet again came during the Nations League, as they managed to lose against France for the second consecutive time in the past four months. However, another damaging defeat against Italy last night meant that their qualification hopes have ended after Sandro Tonali’s goal became the winner thrashing the Belgians out of the tournament. These results suggest that Belgium have some big concerns ahead, and their lack of productivity against these big nations make them an easy target for other teams.
Belgium have faced a horrible run of form and now they have been eliminated from the Nations League after their defeat against Italy. So let’s have a look at what’s going wrong for the Belgian Red Devils? Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
