The golden generation of Belgium does not reach another great tournament

The golden generation of Belgium missed a big tournament.

With Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard in fantastic form, creating opportunities for themselves and Romelu Lukaku in front, Vincent Kompany again at the heart of the defense and Thibaut Courtois in net, these Red Devils have accumulated more goals than any other team in the World Cup. In five matches, they seemed finally able to keep their promise

but with their King Philippe who was watching from the stands, there was no coronation.

AP

The badistant coach Thierry Henry Eden Hazard console at the 39 result of the semifinal between France and Belgium.

After reaching the semi-finals for the first time since 1986, Roberto Martinez's talented team sank 1-0 against France on Tuesday (Wednesday NZT) at St Petersburg stadium on a Samuel Umtiti's head in the second period from a corner.

READ MORE:
* France in the World Cup Final
* Club Cash with Transfer of $ 116m
* Summary: France v Belgium – Semi-Final
* #NeymarChallenge takes off
* Ronaldo leaves Real for Juventus

"Fuck, that's all I can say," Kompa said. [19659014ABelgianteamwithseveralofthesamestarslost1-0toArgentinainthequarter-finalsoftheWorldCupfouryearsagoandwbadhocked3-1byWalesinaquarter-finalEuropeanChampionshipsfinaltwoyearsagoevenduringthefirst30minutesinStPetersburgthisteamlookeddifferentcatchingupwithopportunitiesandlimitingFrenchcounterattacks

" We had more chances today, we had more control over the match, "said Kompany." We did not control Argentina's two years ago. "

But the powerful Belgian attack erased gradually as the solid defense of France gave Belgium its first shutout.

Instead of playing Sunday in Moscow for its first World Cup, Belgium will return to St. Petersburg. , playing in the match for third place and wondering if his championship window is closed.

Beaten players from Belgium did not want to talk about the end of a time _ not with stars like De Bruyne, 27, 26 – Courtois and Lukaku, 25, in the team and even more so in the ranks of young people.

"Generations: who speaks of the generations?", Declared De Bruyne. "We are a small country. We can be very happy and lucky that we can have the team we have. We do not have the resources, the infrastructure, the money available to other countries. What we have is a very good team that has performed very well.

The last time a Belgian team reached the World Cup, she lost 2-0 to Argentina in the 1986 tournament in Mexico. A pair of goals from Diego Maradona in the second half sank Belgium that day

Long considered a country less footballer than his neighbor the Netherlands – whose teams reached three World Cups Kompany, aged 32-year-old and likely to have played in his last World Cup in Russia, believes that despite the defeat, the clbad of 2018 has done a favor to his nation. "The generations come and go," Kompany said. "For Belgian football, I think that eventually there will always be an opportunity to do well, which allows the country to be more ambitious and believe in its own talent, so maybe for the future. we still did a good job for Belgian football. "

Martinez was not talking about the end of an era, but he was already looking into the future after the match

. in all major tournaments, you have to look at the younger generations and try to become stronger. "From tournament to tournament, it's the engine and the ambition."

Belgium remained hooked on it. elusive ambition to reach a first World Cup final.

– AP