THE CONTENDERS - Can Europe’s Red Devils finally turn potential into a title?

When Belgium found no way past African powerhouses, Egypt on Monday, all the doubts about a side that has, for the last decade, flattered to deceive, resurfaced.

Belgium are ranked ninth in the world, but over the last 10 years, have gone as high as number three in the world.

The players that put them at the pinnacle of world football — their golden generation — are all either out of international football or in the twilight of their careers.

Names like Eden Hazard have long been forgotten, but his teammates Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku are still soldiering on. In fact, it was Lukaku who rose from the bench to let Belgium back into the game against Egypt. Jeremy Doku is the Hazard of this generation, and the Manchester City man is looking to be the same kind of talismanic figure in this team. On Monday, he found no space and was, basically, a bystander in the encounter. He will be hoping that there is no repeat of that performance.

The nation that has shown much promise the past decade but has never quite hit the mark, are passing the torch and have been the picture of consistency the past year, with their last defeat coming in March 2025, and a 2-0 win over Croatia ahead of the World Cup showed much promise for the Red Devils until the demons of underperformance surfaced against Mohamed Salah and Co.

Still, could this be the year that Belgium finally fulfil the tremendous potential apparent in their squad over the last 10 years?

Players to watch: Jeremy Doku, Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku

Group G: Belgium, Egypt, Iran, New Zealand

FIFA RANKINGS

1.        Argentina

2.        Spain

3.        France

4.        England

5.        Portugal

6.        Brazil

7.        Morocco

8.          Netherlands

9.        Belgium

10.      Germany