It has been nearly ten years ago when people started to talk about the Belgian “golden generation” of players who are capable of reaching the heights. But for a long time, the Red Devils failed to live up to expectations.

With many players from the current squad already in action, they failed to book a ticket to the EURO 2012, finishing third in their qualifying group behind Germany and Turkey.

And as Belgium had not featured at major tournaments since 2002, reaching the World Cup finals in 2014 was already an achievement. But their squad was so talented that many people expected the Red Devils to go far - and they were disappointed when the team lost to Argentina in the quarter-final.

The same thing happened two years later at the EURO 2016. When Belgium found themselves in an “easier” half of the knock-out bracket, they were tipped to reach the final, so the quarter-final defeat against Wales was quite a frustration.

Following that tournament, the head coach Marc Wilmots was fired. In Belgium, there are hardly any top coaches nowadays, so the national federation hired the Spaniard Roberto Martinez, who had already had enough experience in the English Premier League.

And it worked - Martinez does not speak any of three Belgium’s official language and conducts his work in English, but it is hardly a problem. Together with his assistant, a former French international Thierry Henry, the Spanish coach created a real team spirit. Some players are Flemish, some Walloon and some have immigrant roots - but Belgium look like a very united team despite speaking variuos languages. 

And with players like Romelu Lukaku, Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne, Thibault Courtois, Axel Witsel, Vincent Kompany or Marouane Fellaini, the top quality is certainly there. Their squad has hardly changed during the last 5-6 years, and now many key players are in their prime. Let us look at their age: Courtois is 26, De Bruyne and Hazard are both 27, Lukaku and Yannick Carrasco are 25, Witsel is 29. While these players lacked maturity two or four years ago, now this Belgian generation is in their prime.

At this World Cup, Belgium is the only team who have won all their games in a regular time. And they should be credited for many things - for the brilliant 5:2 win against Tunisia, for beating England in the match where the win did not seem so profitable, for an incredible comeback in the Last 16 game against Japan, and finally for eliminating the five-time world champions from Brazil.

Now Martinez’s men are finally living up to their potential - they are really a top team, a present-day powerhouse, and a victory against Brazil will certainly boost their confidence. The Belgians are already sure to repeat their best ever result at the World Cup, the fourth place in 1986. But this generation has an historic chance to go further, and maybe to become really golden.