World Cup 2022: Courtois Blasts Embarrassing Belgium After Early Exit

World Cup 2022: Courtois Blasts Embarrassing Belgium After Early Exit

Chukwu Ikechukwu
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:19 PM
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  • Thibaut Courtois has described Belgium’s performance at the 2022 World Cup as embarrassing after they were knocked out early in the competition
  • Belgium failed to progress out of the group stage after they finished behind African giants Morocco and Croatia in Group F
  • Belgium’s performance at the 2022 FIFA World Cup is a far cry from their performance in the 2018 edition where they were semi-finalists

Thibaut Courtois did not hold back in his criticism of Belgium’s performance at the 2022 FIFA World Cup after the Red Devils were knockout in the group phase.

Belgium began the tournament with a slim 1-0 victory over Canada before being eliminated after shockingly losing 2-0 to Morocco and drawing 0-0 with Croatia.

Thibaut Courtois, Belgium, Real Madrid, Qatar 2022, FIFA World Cup, Eden Hazard
Thibaut Courtois says the present Belgium team does not deserve the "golden generation" tag after failing to win a trophy. Photo by Elsa
Source: Getty Images

According to Daily Mirror, Courtois has now slammed the Belgium team as he says they do not deserve to be tagged as the “golden generation” after failing to win a single trophy.

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"It's hard to call yourself a 'Golden Generation' when you don't win anything. We are not a golden generation, we are a generation with a lot of talent and great players from all over Europe.
"In this World Cup and in the Euros we were not ourselves, it is a bit embarrassing. We will see what will happen, who will stay, who will not stay.”

Belgium are likely to undergo some serious change after their 2022 World Cup disaster as manager, Robert Martinez has now stepped down after 5 years in charge.

Courtois not thinking of retirement

Meanwhile, Thibaut Courtois confirmed he is looking to be part of Belgium's 2026 World Cup squad as he is not considering retiring from the national team anytime soon, The Sun reports.

The ex-Atletico Madrid star insists the current Belgium team still has a "good generation" of players and that they will bounce back stronger in the next competition.

Belgium will return to the pitch when the qualifiers for the next Euros begin in March 2023 and Courtois will hope to be part of the Red Devils team when it starts.

Courtois disagrees with De Bruyne

Earlier, Sports Brief reported Thibaut Courtois has expressed his disagreement with the claim by Kevin De Bruyne, that Belgium cannot win the World Cup because they are too old.

De Bruyne's comments came shortly before the Red Devils were defeated 2-0 by the Atlas Lions of Morocco - a result that leaves them needing results against Croatia if they want to progress.

The end of the road is near for Belgium's so-called golden generation, who despite spending almost four years as number one on FIFA rankings, have no silverware to show for it.

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Chukwu Ikechukwu
Chukwu Ikechukwu Godwin is a journalist with over 9 years of experience in the Nigerian media industry. He has worked both in Radio (Today FM, Rhythm FM, Wish FM) and Television (Silverbird TV) as a Sports Analyst..
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