Belgium’s golden generation are close to becoming sepia-tinged history, with the focus shifted to a pair of icons who now carry a nation’s hopes alone. That one them isn’t Eden Hazard, though, speaks volumes of his bleak spell in the wilderness where much has changed

Words Richard Jolly

No nation has spent this long as the best team in the world since all-conquering Spain kept possession of their No.1 rank with the kind of care that defined their purveyors of tiki-taka. Perhaps the most remarkable element of Belgium’s summit stretch, though – going back to October 2018 – is that this is a country of about 11 million people. Or maybe it’s the fact that the man who was widely considered their shining talisman hasn’t actually featured for more than half of that time.

In part, that’s due to the 10-month hiatus of international football. But the fact remains: when FFT went to press, Eden Hazard had last played for Belgium in November 2019, in a 6-1 shellacking of Cyprus. Three days earlier, he had scored twice in a 4-1 rout of World Cup quarter-finalists Russia in Saint Petersburg – his 25th and 26th goals in the previous five years of international football.

Six had come in his annus mirabilis. Hazard won the Silver Ball at the 2018 World Cup. In the FIFA Best awards, Manuel Neuer was among the international captains who voted him the finest player on the planet; Gareth Southgate, Alex McLeish, Joachim Löw and Marcello Lippi were some of the managers who put him in their top three. In Belgium’s galaxy of stars, Hazard’s shone the brightest.

But that was before an ill-fated transfer to Real Madrid, injuries and coronavirus. Hazard was such a boyhood fan of Zinedine Zidane that as kids, he and his siblings were pictured in 1998 World Cup France jerseys, each with the playmaker’s name and No.10 stencilled on the back. He has now played for his hero, albeit only in a stop-start Real career littered with injuries, and without finding anything close to his best form.

The danger is that Hazard emulates his Blancos boss in unwanted fashion. Zidane’s outstanding achievements at international level – those back-to-back World Cup and European Championship wins – came before his own big-money move to the Bernabeu.

During Hazard’s extended absence from international duty, a different dynamic has emerged. The Red Devils now feel much less his team than Kevin De Bruyne’s. Roberto Martinez can call on an extraordinary group of players, especially relative to the country’s size, but now seems more reliant on just two: De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku, the creator supreme and the record goalscorer.

The equaliser in March’s World Cup qualifier against the Czech Republic summed it up: De Bruyne provided the incisive pass, Lukaku the clinical finish for a 19th goal in his previous 16 appearances. Three days earlier, Belgium had trailed 1-0 to Wales before De Bruyne’s emphatic equaliser.

Minus Hazard, the armband has passed to defender Jan Vertonghen, but much of the responsibility has gone De Bruyne’s way. Like Pep Guardiola, Martinez has increasingly advanced the talismanic choir boy further upfield; at Manchester City, it’s been in place of a striker, whereas with Belgium it’s to act as more of a Hazard replacement. Martinez is tactically flexible, but De Bruyne has often been used as one of the inside-forwards in a 3-4-2-1 system.

There’s a similar rationale: deploying him in areas where he can do the most damage. And, if it’s facilitated by Youri Tielemans’ development into a central midfielder who can play the role that De Bruyne sometimes used to, the increased reliance on him may be a product of an era ending.

Belgium are regularly described as having a golden generation. Compared to most of those given that often unwanted sobriquet, that is true, with De Bruyne and Hazard its Lampard and Gerrard. In some respects, they are not one generation but two: the first half are retired or declining, and if the second half contained the greater talents – Hazard, Lukaku, De Bruyne – the ageing supporting cast renders them even more important now.

They can be split into those born in the 1980s and those who emerged in the ’90s; the former group mean Belgium have an old defence and fewer options in midfield. Vincent Kompany was their leader without the armband when Hazard assumed the captaincy, and had originally intended to extend his playing career to Euro 2020 before the tournament’s postponement.

Thomas Vermaelen, of Vissel Kobe since 2019, is actually older than the Anderlecht manager but still features at 35. Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld had formed one of the Premier League’s greatest centre-back pairings of the past decade, but that ceased to be the case even before the former joined Benfica. Axel Witsel had Achilles surgery in January, while Steven Defour, Marouane Fellaini and Kevin Mirallas’ Belgium days are over. Dries Mertens remains, but he’s 34 and his place depends on Hazard’s fitness. Now, there’s less strength in depth; a collective have been a two-man team of late.

Borussia Dortmund’s Thorgan Hazard has figured more than his more famous brother. Talent is rarely distributed equally around a team, and smaller countries are still less likely to have every single position covered. The modern Belgium have lacked a natural high-class left-wing-back, for example: Vertonghen’s legs are too old for such duties, so the younger Hazard battles with Yannick Carrasco, although each is more of a winger.

Belgium’s quest for glory has long meant attention for De Bruyne and Hazard. They were briefly team-mates at club level; one given some licence by Jose Mourinho, the other definitively excluded. Rewind to 2013 and, with Hazard the regular, he advised his compatriot to quit Stamford Bridge; the 2014 World Cup was looming and a loan move to Wolfsburg allowed De Bruyne to assume a pivotal role for his country.

That quarter-final defeat to Argentina was too early for Belgium’s gifted crop. Euro 2016, with its loss to Wales, was the great missed chance; the 2018 World Cup both a seismic step forward and prime opportunity before their senior figures slipped into a downward spiral. Even postponing Euro 2020 by a year has changed the equation. The generation game is different, and if the Red Devils are to embellish their status as officially the best with some silverware, it will be because of outstanding individuals in Lukaku (below), De Bruyne and – just maybe – Hazard: the golden boys surrounded by older men.

DURING HAZARD’S EXTENDED ABSENCE FROM INTERNATIONAL DUTY, A DIFFERENT DYNAMIC HAS EMERGED. BELGIUM FEEL  UCH LESS HIS TEAM THAN KEVIN DE BRUYNE’S NOW