After more than 25 minutes of questions to Belgian captain Kevin De Bruyne and coach Domenico Tedesco on Sunday, the dreaded words “Golden Generation” had yet to be heard.
And then it happened, with the last question, to Tedesco, on the eve of his team's first match in the European Championship against Slovakia.
“It's a typical German question about the Golden Generation,” joked Tedesco, who was born in Italy but is a German citizen. “I expected it.”
One day, Belgium's coaches and players will no longer be part of the golden crop of prospects who seemed certain they would one day win an international title, and arguably should have done so at Euro 2016.
He has been a tag and millstone for Belgium since the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where an emerging team included Vincent Kompany, Marouane Fellaini and Jan Vertonghen.
De Bruyne and Eden Hazard matured in the team that reached the quarterfinals of the 2014 World Cup. The Red Devils were stunned in the same phase of Euro 2016 against Wales despite more established stars Thibaut Courtois in goal and Romelu Lukaku in attack.
Marc Wilmots stepped down as coach and was replaced by Roberto Martínez, who is now at Euro 2024 with Portugal.
There were eliminations as the world's top-ranked team by eventual champions: in the 2018 World Cup semifinals against France and in a Euro 2020 quarterfinal match against Italy.
Then, another surprise: failing to advance from the group stage of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, although eventual semi-finalists Croatia and Morocco did.
“Qatar is over. It was a disappointment, yes, but it was 18 months ago,” De Bruyne said on Sunday ahead of the playmaker's third attempt at a European title. “It's a new tournament, a new coach. The team has changed a lot.”
Since the World Cup, veterans such as Hazard, Dries Mertens and Toby Alderweireld have retired from the national team. Courtois had a fight with Tedesco and is not in Germany.
De Bruyne is still here with Vertonghen (37), Lukaku (31) and Axel Witsel (35). Another Manchester City star, winger Jérémy Doku, at 22 years old is already in his third major tournament and a lot is expected of Johan Bakayoko, 21 years old, on the right flank.
Belgium is still ranked number 3 according to FIFA.
“I wouldn't say our team is third in the world at the moment, but in a tournament that doesn't even matter,” said De Bruyne, whose 33rd birthday falls between the round of 16 and the quarterfinals.
“There are a lot of young players in the team and they are very motivated,” said De Bruyne, whose team is the favorite in Group E, which also includes Ukraine and Romania.
Tedesco, 38, who leads Belgium in a tournament for the first time, acknowledged that there was a renewal in the team.
“There is enormous quality among the young prospects, who are already prepared for this stage,” Tedesco said.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this article.
