Opinion National Interest PoV 50-Word Edit

ThePrint On Camera Videos In Pictures

Society & Culture Around Town Book Excerpts Vigyapanti The Dating Story

More Judiciary Education YourTurn Work With Us Campus Voice

Opinion National Interest PoV 50-Word Edit

ThePrint On Camera Videos In Pictures

Society & Culture Around Town Book Excerpts Vigyapanti The Dating Story

More Judiciary Education YourTurn Work With Us Campus Voice

Belgium’s greatest footballing era is fading. The 2026 FIFA World Cup shows why

In the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Belgium has earned just two successive draws in Group G—a 1-1 stalemate against Egypt, followed by a tense, 10-man 0-0 draw against Iran.

In football, and all of sport in fact, the discovery of a “Golden Generation” is when the country’s sporting culture, architecture and imagination essentially reaches its zenith. For a good decade or so, the country and the sporting world bask in its splendour. “Sport is in safe hands,” it is said. However, the passage of time is cruel even to the glorious “Golden Generations” of world sport. In football, the Belgium Men’s Football Team is the victim of time’s latest unravelling.

At the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, the ‘Red Devils’ have failed to win a single game so far. It is worth clarifying a quick misconception, though: they have not actually failed to win a point. The Red Devils have fought to two successive draws in Group G—a 1-1 stalemate against Egypt, followed by a tense, 10-man 0-0 draw against Iran. But for a set of players long touted as the “dark horses” at global events, the narrative does capture the dismal state of affairs for the team, a far cry from what the group once promised.

The underlying sentiment is painfully ringing true: the magic is gone, and the twilight of Belgium’s greatest footballing era is proving to be a slow, agonising fade.

To understand the evolution of this........

© ThePrint