Talented Belgium are dark horses

Jun 13, 2018 06:00 am

Coach: Roberto Martinez
Star players: Kevin de Bruyne , Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku
Best World Cup result: Semi-finals (1986)
Performance at last World Cup: Quarter-finals

Fading into obscurity has become symptomatic of Belgium's reputation as dark horses.

Time and again, their current "golden generation" turned up to major tournaments but never delivered. Being favourites enabled the Red Devils to be more flaky than formidable.

Roberto Martinez has shed his reputation as a managerial nice-guy and taken an uncharacteristically ruthless approach, exemplified by his treatment of AS Roma midfielder Radja Nainggolan, who was largely overlooked in World Cup qualifying and omitted from the final 23-man squad.

Exceptional talent runs through Belgium's side, with a largely unrivalled quality in depth across all areas but deficiencies still exist; the disrupted momentum of Vincent Kompany and Toby Alderweireld will inevitably dovetail with Thibaut Courtois' inconsistent season at Chelsea.

Martinez, who managed Wigan Athletic and Everton, often tried to reinvent the wheel in the English top flight. How he fares with a best-ever crop of players will define whether he, and Belgium, are still hiding behind the mask.