Belgium captain Eden Hazard believes his team owe it to the country’s fans to do even better in Qatar than they did at the Russia 2018 World Cup.
The Red Devils reached the semi-finals four years ago in Russia, their best performance since 1986, and Hazard is eyeing a deeper run in Qatar, where the World Cup will be held from November 20 to December 18.
Hazard and his teammates were given a rousing reception back home after they finished third in Russia, and the Real Madrid star hopes that unforgettable moment will spur the team to greater heights next month in Qatar.
“Those images were just brilliant, and again, those are moments that you’ll never forget, whether you’re a player or a supporter,” he told FIFA in an interview published today.
“Now, you know as well as I do that in football, people have short memories. Another challenge is right around the corner in November and December, and we’re going to have to try to do even better.
“Otherwise the fans won’t be happy, which is perfectly understandable.”
Belgium have one of the most experienced national teams going to the World Cup, with several of their players having more than 100 caps. Hazard agrees this could be an advantage for his side.
He said: “I would imagine that there are a few other teams out there who have a few. But we’re lucky to have a group of players who’ve known each other really well for several years now.
“There’s always talk of the ‘golden generation’, but there’s some truth to it. We’ve spent almost 10 years together. Now we’ve got young players starting to come through.
“Our collective experience has definitely helped us in previous tournaments, so I hope that it’ll continue in the same vein for some time yet.”
The former Chelsea forward however insists that he and his colleagues have not done enough to earn the ‘golden generation’ tag.
“No, I think we’ll deserve it when we win something. Of course, we’ve got an incredible generation of players, but we still haven’t won anything,” he noted.
“If we really want to earn that ‘golden generation’ nickname, I think that’s the one thing we still need to do.
“[We were] so near and yet so far [at Russia 2018]. But we were proud to have got that far, and to have lost against the future champions.
“I think everything’s already been said about that match. We might have played the best football at the World Cup, but we didn’t win. Maybe it would have been preferable to not play as well and win.
“What’s great about football is that every four years there’s a new World Cup where you get another chance to shine. It’s up to us to give our all in this World Cup.”
Belgium are up against Canada, 2018 runners-up Croatia and African representatives Morocco in Group F, and Hazard sees it as a tough pool.
“We’re going to play some pretty good teams: Croatia, Morocco and Canada. Everyone’s familiar with Croatia; they’ve got some incredible players,” he said.
“I’m fortunate enough to play alongside Luka Modric, their captain, every day. There’s not much you can say about him that hasn’t already been said. They’re a talented team, and that’s why they reached the final four years ago.
“We don’t know Canada and Morocco as well, but we’ll have the time to learn all about them. They’ve got very good players. Morocco have [Achraf] Hakimi in their team, so that shows you that they have a lot of potential as well. In any case, the fact that they’ve made it to the World Cup is a sign they’re a great team.
“Canada have some skilful players too, like Jonathan David. I don’t know him personally, but I’ve been keeping an eye on him because he’s at Lille, one of my former clubs.
“It’s always enjoyable to play against sides from other continents that you don’t know all that well, to learn about their style of play and their mental approach. That’s the beauty of the World Cup.”
Hazard, now 31, was one of the standout stars at the last World Cup but he has struggled for form and fitness in recent months. He is confident he will have a good time in Qatar though.
He said: “I have to set the bar high. I’m going to try to do better than in 2018. It’ll be tough because that was already pretty good.
“I’m fortunate to be the captain of a great team and a big footballing nation, and so we owe it to ourselves to have high expectations.”
