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Fairytale endings are a rarity in football.
Belgium's 2-1 defeat to Spain in the 2026 World Cup quarter-finals most likely marked the final appearance for the four remaining members of the "Red Devils'" golden generation.
Thibaut Courtois, Romelu Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne, and Axel Witsel have been integral parts of the national team since the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, but their last chance to win football's most coveted trophy ended after a mistake by one of their successors.
An injured Courtois, who was substituted midway through the second half, could only watch as 24-year-old Senne Lammens fumbled a shot in the 88th minute, allowing Mikel Merino to capitalize on the rebound and secure Spain's victory.
"Lammens didn't handle it well at all. Last year, he didn't make such a mistake for Manchester United, but the pressure here was completely different," Steven Warnock told BBC Radio 5 Live.
The time for the next generation will come, but this was a sad way for the old guard to say goodbye. The Belgian squad that beat Algeria 2-1 in their opening group stage match of the 2014 World Cup looked like a team of stars in their prime. Courtois, De Bruyne, Witsel, and Lukaku started, as did Eden Hazard, Mousa Dembélé, and Vincent Kompany, with Dries Mertens and Marouane Fellaini coming off the bench.
Belgium won their group in their first World Cup appearance since 2002 and reached the quarter-finals. Four years later, the team went a step further, reaching the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup, and then won the third-place play-off. The same generation also reached the quarter-finals of the European Championships in 2016 and 2021, before being eliminated in the group stage of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Critics argue that such a talented squad should have achieved more, but for a country with a population of under 12 million, was international triumph ever a realistic goal?
"To be called a golden generation, you have to win something golden. Only then can you truly bear that title," said Spanish football journalist Guillem Balagué. "Expectations in Belgium became incredibly high. It's interesting how people look back at this generation, because with Lukaku, De Bruyne, Tielemans, and Trossard, they actually had a very strong period. They finished third in the last World Cup under Roberto Martínez, and that seems to have been forgotten. I'm not sure what more could have been asked of them. Compared to teams like England, who also had their golden generation, with Italy, who used their rich experience and won the European Championship, and with the rise of Spain, expecting Belgium to necessarily become world champions might be too much."
Alongside these renowned names, Leandro Trossard (31), Brandon Mechele (33), Timothy Castagne (33), Hans Vanaken (33), and Thomas Meunier (34) also most likely played their last World Cup minutes.
"I'm disappointed for those who might not return to the national team," said coach Rudi Garcia after the match. "I picked a squad with which I wanted to go as far as possible. I wanted my veterans, who are probably nearing the end of their journey, to have one last great moment. It's a shame because I think everyone deserved to go far in this World Cup."
"I think a new era is beginning for us," Courtois stated before Belgium's 4-1 thrashing of co-hosts USA in the round of 16. "It's true that there are still players from the golden generation, but the World Cup in Qatar wasn't successful for us. Now we have a new generation – younger players, new faces who want to achieve great things and write their names in the history of Belgian football."
The representatives of this new generation – 13 players in the squad are 25 or younger – certainly gave reason for optimism about the future. Forward Charles De Ketelaere wasn't particularly prolific in Serie A last season, scoring only three goals in 31 matches, but at the World Cup, he netted three times and finished the tournament as Belgium's top scorer, alongside another teammate.
The 25-year-old also provided an assist, excelling at creating space for wingers to cut into the box. Captain Youri Tielemans, 29, scored both the equalizer and the winning goal in an impressive comeback against Senegal in the first knockout round, while 24-year-old Aston Villa midfielder Amadou Onana played strongly before suffering a severe anterior cruciate ligament injury in the match against the USA.
At just 24, Jérémy Doku is a world-class player, although he couldn't replicate the form he showed with Manchester City last season.
"The younger players in the squad will learn a lot from this tournament," Garcia said. "We can be proud of our performance at the World Cup. One learns through losses. I don't think we have anything to be ashamed of. I believe we managed to seriously trouble the Spanish team. We lost our goalkeeper, we lost our captain. We had to substitute Kevin De Bruyne, and that was not part of our initial plan at all. Too many things went wrong, and nothing developed as it should have. You cannot give chances to such an opponent, and unfortunately, we did so several times."
Commentary by Alex Brotherton for bbc.com
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