Belgium
Today's Talking Points
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1Belgium's World Cup ran deeper than most — all the way to the quarterfinals, before losing 2-1 to Spain in Los Angeles on July 10. Fabián Ruiz put Spain ahead, Charles De Ketelaere equalised, and Mikel Merino's 88th-minute strike sent Belgium home. A genuinely good tournament ended on the smallest of margins.
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2The high point was the Round of 16 — a 4-1 demolition of co-hosts USA, with Charles De Ketelaere scoring twice. Beating a home team in the last 16, in front of its own fans, is exactly the kind of result that makes a tournament memorable.
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3Belgium's so-called golden generation — De Bruyne, Lukaku and company — has been fading for a few cycles now, so a quarterfinal run built around a new attacking focal point is a genuinely reassuring sign rather than a letdown, even in defeat to the team that went on to win it all.
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4Charles De Ketelaere is the name to know — scored in the Round of 16 rout of the USA and again in the quarterfinal against Spain, making him Belgium's most consistent attacking threat across the whole tournament.
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5Losing to Spain, who then went all the way to the final, is a defeat nobody would complain about. Belgium leave with their best run in years and a genuine successor to their aging core already delivering on the biggest stage.
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Top thing to say down the pub
Belgium go out in the quarterfinals to Spain by a single late goal, after De Ketelaere had just dragged them level — as exits go, that's about as good as losing gets.
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Avoid saying
Don't call this Belgium's golden generation's last stand — De Ketelaere just showed there's a next one, so 'the end of an era' undersells what was actually one of Belgium's better tournaments in years.