World Cup 2026: How Belgium’s golden generation has improved with Spain in their sights

In the year

The 37-year-old central midfielder Witsel, who left relegation zone Girona at the end of the La Liga season, played one minute in the win over the United States.

At the age of 33, Lukaku scored an impressive three goals, but did so playing less than 50% of the minutes and was substituted several times, taking advantage of a tired defense to press hard on Atalanta’s 25-year-old forward Charles de Quetta.

And De Bruyne, now 35, was injured in the Senegal game – Belgium won one of three games before his departure, but has since scored seven goals in 130 minutes, scoring twice in 130 minutes.

Full-back Thomas Meunier played in the 2018 tournament but did not play in 2014 and his minutes decreased as the tournament went on.

None of this is to say that plenty of top players haven’t contributed – Courtois remains one of the best goalkeepers in the world, Lukaku’s goals have been crucial, and De Bruyne’s form was the best in the squad before his injury.

But their role in their team is changing, with them being relied upon to make the difference at key moments rather than taking responsibility for the overall quality of the team’s results.

So far, at least, Garcia and Belgium are handling the transition better than many teams do when their stars begin to fade.