Belgium's 'golden generation' in danger of implosion as tensions mount at World Cup

Martinez's side face Croatia with divided dressing room still reeling from bust-ups following shock Morocco defeat

Morocco players celebrate the 2-0 Group F win against Belgium at Al Thumama Stadium on November 27, 2022 in Doha. Getty

Achraf Hakimi and Hakim Ziyech celebrate. Getty

Morocco fans celebrate after the 2-0 win. Getty

Toby Alderweireld and Dries Mertens of Belgium look dejected. Getty

Morocco players after their incredible win. Getty

Morocco players celebrate after Abdelhamid Sabiri scored in the Group F match against Belgium at the Al-Thumama Stadium in Doha on November 27, 2022. AFP

Abdelhamid Sabiri (bottom R) of Morocco celebrates with teammates after scoring. EPA

Abdelhamid Sabiri celebrates after scoring. Getty

Thibaut Courtois of Belgium dives in vain as Abdelhamid Sabiri scores for Morocco. Getty

Abdelhamid Sabiri celebrates with Yahya Attiat-Allah. Getty

Morocco's Munir El Kajoui celebrates after Abdelhamid Sabiri scores. Reuters

Belgium's Kevin De Bruyne in action. Reuters

Morocco midfielder Selim Amallah controls the ball past Belgium's midfielder Kevin De Bruyne. AFP

Morocco's Youssef En-Nesyri and Belgium defender Jan Vertonghen fight for the ball. AFP

Belgium's Leandro Trossard tries to get past Morocco's Noussair Mazraoui. PA

Morocco's Abdelhamid Sabiri celebrates scoring the opening goal. PA

Morocco take the lead against Belgium. PA

Abdelhamid Sabiri of Morocco celebrates. Getty

The temptation for Luka Modric, when he shakes hands with his Real Madrid colleague and opposing international captain this evening, must be to make a sly joke at the expense of Eden Hazard’s Belgium.

“Are we too old as well?” Croatia’s Modric could ask, gently rubbing salt in one of the many wounds collected by the Belgians during their fractious first week of World Cup action.

A curious remark in an interview given by Kevin de Bruyne, 31, about Belgium’s World Cup chances – “we’re too old,” he said – has been followed by well-sourced reports of a dressing-room bust-up and finger-pointing between senior players.

There are simmering questions, inside and outside the camp, over whether Belgium’s so-called golden generation are slowing up, their manager Roberto Martinez missing opportunities to refresh the line-up with younger men.

The fact is, Croatia might pose themselves similar questions – Modric is 37, one of five over-30s who were in their side in their opening Group F draw against Morocco – except the loyalty shown by their manager Zlatko Dalic to his seniors has yielded four points so far.

It means they go into the last group fixture needing only a draw to progress. Belgium – who fielded six over-30s in the starting XI who lost 2-0 to Morocco – must win to guarantee a place in the last 16.

Martinez, who acknowledges there have been “tensions” within the squad following lacklustre displays against Canada – a 1-0 win – and Morocco, said on Wednesday that the make-or-break meeting between his bronze-medallists from Russia 2018 and that tournament’s finalists “can be the moment our World Cup begins, a second chance we have to seize.”

Belgium 0 Morocco 2: player ratings

BELGIUM RATINGS: Thibaut Courtois 4 – Was twice undone by free-kicks, firstly from Ziyech and an effort that was later ruled out for offside, then again for the decisive goal at his near post. Could do little about the second. Reuters

Thomas Meunier 4 – Overlapped well on the right but his final delivery always let him down. Was also guilty of giving needless free-kicks away in his own half. AFP

Toby Alderweireld 4 – Belgium’s tempo was too slow and that started from the back, with Alderweireld and others taking too many touches and allowing Morocco to recover their shape. He did, though, make a key interception towards the end with Morocco threatening. Getty

Jan Vertonghen 5 – Won a lot in the air but like Alderweireld, his passing was usually sideways, and slowed things down. He came close with a header in the final ten minutes. Getty

Timothy Castagne 5 – Looked to get forward when he could, but had his hands full with Ziyech. Getty

Andre Onana 5 – Had a half chance from a Belgium corner. He beat Munir to the ball but could only head over. Soon after, he picked up a senseless yellow card that will see him miss the game against Croatia. Overall, he didn’t do enough. EPA

Axel Witsel 5 – Ineffective going forward from the middle, and was guilty of slowing the play down. Did his defensive duties well. Getty

Thorgan Hazard 6 – His creativity led to the first chance of the game, his angled through ball releasing Batshuayi, who tested Munir. Lively throughout, though unable to really penetrate the opposition. EPA

Kevin De Bruyne 5 – Yet to hit his stride at this World Cup, he cut a frustrated figure throughout. He came closest with a free-kick in the first half from a tight angle, but his effort landed on the roof of the net. AFP

Eden Hazard 4 – Dropped deeper and deeper to receive the ball and so didn’t operate in dangerous positions. When he did manage to fashion a shooting opportunity, in the second half, he forced Munir into a save to his left. Ultimately, he was ineffective, and was substituted. PA

Michy Batshuayi 4 – Had a good early chance and, after timing his run to perfection, forced Munir into a save following good work from Thorgan Hazard. For a target man, though, he didn’t keep the ball enough, and strayed offside too many times. AFP

SUBS: Youri Tielemans (Onana, 60) 5 – Made a crunching tackle with his first touch to win the ball back in a dangerous area, then anonymous thereafter. AFP

Dries Merterns (E Hazard, 60) 6 – Created a bit of magic within minutes of coming on; he created a shooting chance from the edge of the area and forced Munir into a save. AP

Leandro Trossard (T Hazard, 75) N/A – Will no doubt have watched with frustration as both Hazard brothers flattered to deceive. Getty

Charles de Ketelaere (Batshuayi, 75) N/A – Had little joy, like the player he replaced. AP

Romelu Lukaku (Meunier, 81) N/A – It says much about Belgium’s performance that Roberto Martinez turned to Lukaku ahead of schedule. He won a corner with his first contribution. Getty

MOROCCO RATINGS: Munir 7 – A late addition at kick-off, was called into action early on to block smartly from Batshuayi. He looked confident when defending corners, often clearing with a solid punch. Saved well to his right to deny Hazard in the second half. Getty

Achraf Hakimi 6 – Made a good and dangerous run into the area just after the half hour mark. He looked across and, with few options, he blazed over with a wild effort. Was carrying a knock and looked a little bit off his usual pace. AP

Nayef Aguerd 7 – Impressive throughout. He was aggressive in his tackling, but also accurate with both his long and short passing. Getty

Romain Saiss 7 – Strayed offside during Ziyech’s goal-bound free-kick, which obscured Courtois’s view, and led to VAR ruling out the goal. He then did exactly the same when breaking the deadlock, but stayed onside. Kept Batshuayi quiet throughout. Getty

Noussair Mazraoui 7 – Solid performance from Mazraoui who moved to right-back following Hakimi’s substitution. AFP

Azzedine Ounahi 7 – A raw performance from the youngster, who worked tirelessly throughout and gave everything to the cause while looking stylish with the ball at his feet. AFP

Nordin Amrabat 8 – Worked tirelessly at both ends, winning the ball back and then attempting to drive his team forward. Was central to Morocco’s play throughout. EPA

Selim Amallah 7 – One of four Moroccan players born and raised in Belgium, Amallah worked hard. He had a shooting opportunity in the first half, albeit a difficult one, and hit it high and wide. Was more involved in this match than he was against Croatia, getting a number of successful passes in. EPA

Hakim Ziyech, 9 – Always looked one of the more dangerous players, and he thought he’d given his side the lead when he converted from a free-kick. However, after a VAR check, Saiss was adjudged to have been offside. Came close again from distance following a progressive move from Morocco, but his effort drifted over the bar. Cut the ball back for Aboukhal to put the game beyond doubt. EPA

Youssef En-Nesyri 6 – Arguably the weak link in Morocco’s attack, and who didn’t offer as much as a threat as those playing behind him. AFP

Sofiane Boufal 7 – While a lot of Morocco’s play came from the other side of the pitch, Boufal had one of the best chances of the game when, after dropping his shoulder, he lost Meunier and sent a low effort just wide of Courtois’s post. Always a threat. EPA

SUBS: Yahya Attiat-Allah (Amallah, 68) 7 – Made an instant impact, winning the free-kick that led to the opening goal. Getty

Abdelhamid Sabiri (Hakimi, 68) 8 – A stunning free-kick, a wicked delivery that caught out Courtois at his near post, put Morocco ahead. Reuters

Zakaria Aboukhlal (Boufal, 73) N/A – Scored the decisive second following a neat cut back from Ziyech, an unstoppable finish into the top corner. Getty

Abderazak Hamdallah (En-Nesyri, 73) N/A – Made a dangerous break in the closing stages and held the ball up well before forcing a corner. Getty

Jawad El Yamiq (Ounahi, 78) N/A – Made his World Cup debut and did little wrong in his 15-minute cameo. AP

In his pre-match press conference, he also leaned heavily on what his senior players, under Martinez’s guidance since 2016, have achieved in the past: “Four years at the top of the Fifa rankings,” he reminded reporters, and called the Belgium of his period in charge “the most talented team in the history of Belgian football”.

Modric would nod to that. He’s never been on a winning Croatia side against Belgium, and endorses the view that no country at this World Cup has a finer goalkeeper than Thibaut Courtois, so often Madrid’s hero on the way to last season’s Champions and Liga Double.

As for Hazard, figurehead of this guilded generation of Belgian players, Modric and Madrid are still waiting for the version of him Madrid paid Chelsea over €100 million for in the summer of 2019. In more than three injury-hampered, inconsistent years at Madrid, Hazard has started only 40 matches across La Liga and Champions League.

Hazard, 31, came to Qatar on the back of barely 70 minutes of club action since September, and sensitive that his status in the national team was threatened by the sharp form of, among others, Brighton’s Leandro Trossard.

Andrej Kramaric celebrates scoring Croatia's third goal during the 4-1 Group F win against Canada at Khalifa International Stadium on November 27, 2022 in Doha, Qatar. Getty

Alphonso Davies celebrates putting Canada in front. AFP

Andrej Kramaric celebrates scoring Croatia's first goal. AFP

Luka Modric in action for Croatia. EPA

Andrej Kramaric scores Croatia's first goal. AFP

Marko Livaja puts Croatia 2-1 ahead. EPA

Canada's goalkeeper Milan Borjan concedes the second goal to Marko Livaja. AFP

Croatia's Andrej Kramaric celebrates scoring their third goal with teammates Ivan Perisic and Dejan Lovren. Reuters

Andrej Kramaric of Croatia celebrates scoring his side's third goal. Getty

Andrej Kramaric scores Croatia's third. Getty

Lovro Majer (right) adds the fourth for Croatia in added time. PA

Lovro Majer celebrates the final goal. Getty

De Bruyne, also 31, meanwhile fell below his own high standards against Morocco and, in another of those occasional moments when De Bruyne speaks candidly to reporters, questioned why he had been made man of the match in the narrow win over a lively Canada.

Hazard then made his own headlines with a remark after the loss to Morocco: “Our defenders are not the fastest,” he said, “and they know that.” Defender Jan Vertonghen, 35, confronted the captain, and according to reports, striker Romelu Lukaku felt he had to intervene to keep the peace in the dressing-room.

Lukaku is one senior player and Golden Generation flag-bearer Martinez would like to have leaned on more in Qatar. The striker, his country’s all-time record goalscorer, has been fit enough only for 10 minutes – coming off the bench, chasing in vain a comeback against Morocco.

Martinez hopes the Inter Milan man can have a bigger role in the D-Day against Croatia. “It’s important he is there,” said the manager. “He makes a difference on the pitch and off it, in the dressing-room. He’s a leader with influence.”

Belgium, long on experience, urgently need a few of those all pulling in the same direction.

Michy Batshuayi of Belgium scores their first goal in the World Cup Group F match against Canada at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium on November 23, 2022, in Doha, Qatar. Getty

Michy Batshuayi of Belgium scores their first goal. Getty

Belgium forward Michy Batshuayi celebrates after scoring the first goal against Canada. AP

Canada's Alphonso Davies has his penalty saved by Belgium's Thibaut Courtois. Reuters

Belgium's Thibaut Courtois saves a penalty missed by Canada's Alphonso Davies. Reuters

Canada's Alphonso Davies misses a penalty. PA

Belgium's goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois makes a save. AFP

Canada's defender Richie Laryea fights for the ball with Belgium's midfielder Yannick Carrasco. AFP

Belgium coach Roberto Martinez reacts on the touchline. AFP

Belgium midfielder Yannick Carrasco and Canada defender Richie Laryea battle. AFP

Canada's Alphonso Davies tries to control the ball. AP

Canada's Junior Hoilett in action with Belgium's Leander Dendoncker. Reuters

Belgium's Jan Vertonghen in action with Canada's Tajon Buchanan. Reuters

Canada's Tajon Buchanan, left, and Belgium's Yannick Carrasco. AP