Belgium's Road to World Cup Glory: Health and Confidence Restored
Belgium arrive at the sharp end of this World Cup with something they’ve barely known all tournament: a clean bill of health and a clear view of the path ahead.
Rudi Garcia cut a far more relaxed figure in Seattle on Tuesday. The group stage had been a grind – draws against Egypt and Iran, questions about rhythm, about fitness, about whether this side still had another gear. Then came the 5-1 dismantling of New Zealand, a reminder that when Belgium click, they can still tear opponents apart.
Now, with Senegal looming in the last 16, the coach finally has everyone available.
“Before this game against Senegal, we are lucky to have everyone available, and that's a good thing because it was not the case for the first three games,” Garcia said.
Earlier in the competition, too many key players were running on fumes. “Everyone was not 100 percent, unfortunately, or everyone was not completely fit. But this is over.”
That line will have landed well in a dressing room that has been waiting for its heavyweights to truly join the party.
Romelu Lukaku is the clearest symbol of that wait. Belgium’s record scorer barely played an hour for Napoli all season, his hamstring constantly tugging him back to the treatment room. In this World Cup he has been used sparingly, a weapon off the bench rather than the usual focal point, yet even in limited bursts he has shifted games, bullied defenders, drawn markers, opened lanes.
Jeremy Doku’s tournament has been stop-start for very different reasons. The winger missed Belgium’s second match to attend the birth of his son in London, a joyous interruption that came at a delicate moment in the campaign. Charles De Ketelaere, meanwhile, sat out the goalless draw with Iran with a knee issue that added another layer of concern around a team already short of fluency.
Now, at last, the mood has changed.
“Jeremy, Romelu are getting better. Charles, I think that his problem is over as well,” Garcia said, sounding like a coach who can finally pick on form rather than necessity.
The medical bulletins that once cast a shadow over every training session have given way to a renewed sense of purpose.
Belgium still did what they had to do. Top of Group G, as demanded.
“We wanted to end first in the group and this is what we did,” Garcia said. “I wish we had won more games, all the games, but we're not going to go back in the past. What matters now is that we progressed out of the group stage.”
That last sentence draws a line under a stuttering opening act. There is no time now for regrets, only for clarity. The margin for error has shrunk to nothing.
Senegal will test that clarity. Physically, tactically, emotionally. Belgium know this is the point in a World Cup where reputations become fragile and one bad half can shatter a campaign. They have already seen the warning signs.
De Ketelaere, now back in the frame, pointed straight at them.
Paraguay’s shock win over Germany on Monday ripped up another of the old hierarchies and sent a message across the tournament. No one is safe. No one can coast.
“I don't think it matters who is the favourite,” De Ketelaere said. Labels don’t win knockout ties; intensity does. “It matters that we have confidence in ourselves and that we are sharp tomorrow to just go win this game, because yesterday showed us that to be favourites or not, it doesn't matter.
“We need to be alert and sharp to win the game.”
The words are simple, but the stakes are not. Belgium have their stars back, their squad intact, their route clear. The question now is whether this long-awaited full-strength side can finally play like it – when there are no more second chances.
