Kevin De Bruyne has alleged that Belgium is not a strong team to win the 2022 Qatar FIFA World Cup because the team is filled with old players.
The Manchester City and Belgium superstar Kevin De Bruyne opines that his country has no chance of winning the Qatar World Cup due to the ages of most of the team’s crucial players, including himself.
The 31-year-old De Bruyne was one of the six players who launched Belgium’s 1-0 victory over Canada in their opener that are at least, 30 years of age.
Even though Belgium axed out Canada 1-0 in their World Cup opening match, it’s so glaring that their performance was not as rigid to make a World impact as the team did in 2018.
Former Chelsea star Michy Batshuayi rescued Belgium in the 44th minute, but their performance was dry, uninspired, and unviable to reach the peak of the Qatar World Cup tournament.
Meanwhile, the age factor, according to the Manchester City ace is one of the major issues affecting Belgium’s team performances.
The average age of the entire Belgium squad is the sixth oldest in the Qatar World Cup tournament, but more than half of the starting 11 that played against Canada were 30 years old or above.
Most of Belgium’s current crucial players including Eden Hazard, Jan Vertonghen, and De Bruyne are already in their 30s and will be past their peak by the time the 2026 World Cup arrives, or may not feature in the competition at all.
Toby Alderweireld (33) and Jan Vertonghen (35) are two of their most valuable players in the team’s defense.
While Kevin De Bruyne (31), Dries Mertens (35), and Eden Hazard (31) are also in their 30s and very prominent members of the squad.
Although Belgium has an element of youth players who are still in their 20s like Jeremy Doku (20), Lois Open (22), Charles De Ketelaere (22), and Arthur Theatre (22), the team’s game changers are above 30.
Manchester City ace De Bruyne noted that the young players in the team are not at the level of the squad who featured for the nation in the 2018 Russia World Cup.
When asked if Belgium could lift the 2022 FIFA World Cup trophy, the 31-year-old Manchester City midfielder said: “No chance, we’re too old. I think our chance was in 2018.
“We have a good team, but it is aging. We lost some key players. We have some good new players coming, but they are not at the level other players were in 2018. I see us more as outsiders.”
Kevin De Bruyne is one of Manchester City’s key players as well as the best-paid player with an estimated salary of £385,000 a week.
The 31-year-old De Bruyne’s form at City has always been impressive and amazing, as the Belgian plays as if he’s still in his 20s.
De Bruyne has been instrumental in Erling Haaland’s rapid success at Manchester City.
Old age or not, if the Belgium team is inspired enough and desists from mundane assumptions as they are not the only team with old players, they will certainly draw a landmark in the Qatar World Cup competition.
Indeed, players like Eden Hazard, Mertens, Witsel, Vertonghen, and Alderweireld were agile and fitter in their last edition, but that doesn’t mean they are out of form or can’t damage any team’s defense.
Hence, Belgium fans will hope to see the Manchester City captain have a second thought about his country’s chances of winning the World Cup and disregard the old age factor.
In the hope to secure a place in the last 16, Belgium will take on Morocco in their second 2022 FIFA World Cup group game today, Sunday 27 November. The match will take place at Al Thumama Stadium with kickoff scheduled for 14:00 BST.
