Belgium has witnessed its golden generation in the sport of football over the last few years.
With star-studded players like Romelu Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne, Thibaut Courtois, and Eden Hazard being a major feature for the biggest clubs in Europe, Belgium has all the firepower it needs to succeed in a competition like the upcoming European Championship.
The Red Devils finished third in the 2018 World Cup held in Russia, defeating England 2-0 in the third-place playoff. They are also currently the highest ranked side in FIFA’s Men’s Football rankings. Following the World Cup, Belgium had a near-perfect Euro 2020 qualifying campaign with wins in all 10 matches. They scored 40 goals in those games and conceded just thrice.
However, since then, things have changed which casts a doubt over Belgium’s ability to progress to the deeper stages of this year’s competition. Captain Eden Hazard has looked like a shadow of the player he once was at Chelsea. His move to Real Madrid has been an utter and complete disaster and Hazard has also suffered from frequent bouts of injuries.
Belgium will also be starting the tournament with experienced midfielder Axel Witsel only recently recovering form his long-term injury absence and talisman Kevin De Bruyne suffered a facial fracture while playing for Manchester City in the Champions League Final against Chelsea.
Hazard required an ankle surgery in 2020 and has been a constant disappointment at Real Madrid. In fact, he hasn’t played for Belgium in over 18 months. The former Chelsea man was kept on the bench by Zinedine Zidane during the Champions League semi-final clashes against The Blues.
However, Belgium head coach Roberto Martinez has included Hazard in his final 26-man squad for Euro 2020.
“I think the medical condition is the best moment Eden had for a long, long time,” Martinez said. “The level of fitness is really satisfactory. And from that point we always look back on how important Eden Hazard is for the national team. He is our captain and the way that he performs in our environment is essential, and is vital.”
Martinez said Witsel needs some more time to be ready but insists he feels “very confident that he could have a big role” during the tournament.
Witsel’s Euro 2020 participation seemed to be in jeopardy when we underwent surgery on an Achilles tendon injury. However, Martinez hopes Witsel will be fully fit for the knockout stages of the competition.
