However, things are not going very well for Belgium, and 10 minutes in the company of Castagne underlined that all too well. “I think we were already a group, united but maybe not enough,” said the Leicester defender. “If you want to go far in a World Cup you have to be united and be able to fight for your teammates and maybe we didn’t show that enough, so I think the meeting was very useful.”
Morocco’s defeat followed a lucky 1-0 victory over Canada and Castagne said he paid too much attention to the doubters. “We have been influenced by that criticism,” he said. “We heard people say we weren’t a golden generation and started asking ourselves questions and doubting ourselves.”
Where would he place confidence levels out of 10 in the game against Croatia? Confidence level – I’d say six or seven,” he said.
And De Bruyne’s comments? “I think that may be true to some extent and that’s why we had to talk about it in a team meeting to solve these issues,” added Castagne, before adding that age was not an obstacle for Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci. won Euro 2020 with Italy last summer. However, no one had the heart to remind him that Italy had failed to qualify for this World Cup. “Age is not the issue and I think we have solved the problems in the camp,” Castagne said, insisting that the meeting was not “crisis talks” and that “no insults” were uttered.
Seven of the team that started against Morocco were in their thirties. As a late substitute in the game, his first taste of football in a month, Lukaku is expected to replace Michy Batshuayi in the attack against Croatia, the defeated 2018 finalists.
Just as successive England managers have been blamed for failing to make the most of their own golden generation, Martinez has often been accused of underperforming with this crop of players. But whatever Belgium is going to achieve in Qatar, the Spaniard claimed their legacy was already secured.
“They got the bronze medal in 2018, they kept the national team number 1 in the world rankings for four years despite being a nation of 11 million,” said Martinez. “Twenty-one of them have their [Uefa] A [coaching] licenses. This generation will continue to influence Belgian football from a coaching perspective for the next 20 years.
“What you can say is that this generation has not won a major tournament, but leaving a legacy goes way beyond winning a tournament. I’m sure you can find national teams that have won tournaments and left no legacy. This group of players deserves respect and admiration for what they have done and from here they can win, draw or lose, but the legacy of this generation… the next 20 years of Belgian football will never be the same again thanks to this generation.”
Squad Belgium World Cup 2022
keepers: Thibaut Courtois, Simon Mignolet, Koen Casteels
Defenders: Jan Vertonghen, Toby Alderweireld, Wout Faes, Arthur Theate, Zeno Debast, Thomas Meunier, Timothy Castagne
midfielders: Kevin De Bruyne, Youri Tielemans, Amadou Onana, Axel Witsel, Hans Vanaken, Leander Dendoncker, Yannick Carrasco, Thorgan Hazard
Forward: Eden Hazard, Charles De Ketelare, Leandro Trossard, Dries Mertens, Jeremy Doku, Romelu Lukaku, Michy Batshuayi, Lois Openda