Kevin De Bruyne says Belgium have "no chance" of winning this winter's World Cup because they are "too old".
Earlier this week, Roberto Martinez's side secured a far-from-convincing win over underdogs Canada in their opening Group F game after a first-half finish from Fenerbahce forward Michy Batshuayi.
You could say the Red Devils were lucky to seal all three points on Wednesday, but they struggled in large spells in their second game against Morocco, who exposed Belgium's experienced defence on numerous occasions.
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After causing problems for over an hour, late goals from Abdelhamid Sabiri and Zakaria Aboukhlal gave Walid Regragui's side a deserved win at the Al Thumama Stadium in Doha.
Belgium's squad have been accused of being too old in the past and plenty on social media brought up their age both during and after Sunday afternoon's defeat to Morocco.
In fact, earlier this week, their star player, Kevin De Bruyne, gave a brutally honest assessment of their chances at this winter's World Cup in an interview with The Guardian.
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When asked if they could win the tournament, he replied: “No chance, we’re too old."
Later on in the interview, the Manchester City man was asked again about Belgium's chances again. “I think our chance was 2018," he said. "We have a good team, but it is ageing.
"We lost some key players. We have some good new players coming, but they are not at the level other players were in 2018. I see us more as outsiders.”
This Belgium squad continues to called the 'Golden Generation' by some, although their lacklustre performances have left much to be desired in recent days.
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Eden Hazard, who has been given the captain's armband by manager Roberto Martinez for this winter's tournament, also believes his team had a better chance of lifting the World Cup in 2018.
"To be fair, I think we had a better chance four years ago," he said ahead of their Group F game against Morocco. "The team was better four years ago, but we still have the quality to win games, win competitions.
"We have a few guys who are a bit older now but we have experience, we have the best goalkeeper [Thibaut Courtois] in the world, and like I said before, we have one of the best midfielders in the world right now, we also have good strikers.
"We are a complete team and I think it's just [we need to show] the desire if we want to win, it's just mentality things.
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"We have to enjoy moments, play our game, have fun on the pitch, try to win and then we'll see what happens."
Belgium's back four against Morocco – Thomas Meunier, Jan Vertonghen, Toby Alderweireld and Timothy Castagne – have a combined age of 135, while the likes of Axel Witsel [33] and Eden Hazard [31] aren't getting any younger.
Thoughts on De Bruyne and Hazard's comments? Are you surprised by Belgium's performances at the World Cup so far?
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Let us know in the comments.
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: Kevin De Bruyne, Belgium, Eden Hazard, Football World Cup, Roberto Martinez
