- Belgium finished third at Russia 2018
- Featuring stars like De Bruyne, Witsel, Hazard, Mertens and Lukaku, the Red Devils are a force to be reckoned with
- With Qatar 2022 fast approaching, Belgium coach Roberto Martinez chatted with FIFA about several key topics
Having finished third in Russia four years ago, a final placing secured via a 2-0 victory over England, Belgium are planning on making an even greater mark on the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™.
With six players – Jan Vertonghen, Axel Witsel, Toby Alderweireld, Eden Hazard, Dries Mertens and Romelu Lukaku – on 100 caps or more, Roberto Martinez’s side boasts quality and experience all over the park.
The Spanish tactician, who was handed the reins of Les Diables Rouges in 2016, took time out of his busy schedule to chat exclusively to FIFA Studios about a variety of subjects, including his team’s “golden generation” moniker, their long occupancy of top spot in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking (from September 2018 to February 2021), and his memories of Russia 2018.
During your team’s impressive World Cup qualifying campaign, you became the coach with the highest number of wins in Belgium’s footballing history. Are you proud of that record?
Roberto Martinez: Yes, I’m extremely proud of it. But I should point out that I’m just one element of the huge amount of effort put in by the Belgian FA, which has resulted in new facilities and lots of new players. That’s what I’m truly proud of, even more than winning matches. Wins are the consequence of the hard work carried out by around 100 people behind the scenes, who are constantly striving to help the team – and Belgian football – to make progress.
What memories do you have of Russia 2018? Was getting within touching distance of the final a bitter pill to swallow?
I don’t know. That’s not how I tend to look at things. At the time, I felt like we’d given everything, and when that happens, you have to accept that you were facing a team that was trying to achieve exactly the same goal as you.
A semi-final defeat is one of those setbacks that you need to find a way of dealing with. It’s very, very difficult, but you manage to get over that feeling of disappointment by quickly playing in another match. That’s what we did, when we finished third at the World Cup for the first time ever. We had more of a sense of a job well done rather than a feeling of missed opportunity. This group of players became the greatest Belgian generation in tournament history.
