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Roberto Martinez gives verdict on Belgium’s ‘golden generation’.
The manager of Belgium, Roberto Martinez, has claimed that even if his team is eliminated from this year’s World Cup in the group stages, the legacy of the country’s “golden generation” has already been established.
To advance to the knockout stages, the Red Devils must defeat Croatia in their final group match and hope that Canada wins against Morocco.
Without doing so, the so-called “golden generation” of Belgian players, many of whom are nearing the conclusion of their international careers, would come to an end.
Speaking ahead of the final group game, however, Martinez has insisted that the player deserve respect for what they’ve achieved throughout the years: “Leaving a legacy goes a lot further than winning a tournament.
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“I’m sure you can find national teams that win tournaments and don’t leave a legacy. This group of players deserves respect, deserves admiration for what they’ve done.”
“You’re talking about players that left Belgium very young to go to the [top] European football [clubs]. They win trophies and they’re always committed. You’ve got eight players that are above 100 caps. We’ve got Thibaut Courtois reaching his 100th cap against Croatia. You got players that they gave their career for the national team.
“This generation is the golden generation of Belgian football. There is not a doubt. They got the bronze medal in 2018, they kept the national team four years at the No. 1 spot in the world rankings, a population of 11 million.”