New generation, old problems
With a new generation, Belgium is pursuing the old goal: finally winning a title. But the team has been hit by the same core problem: a lack of finishing at crucial moments - manifested by Lukaku.
Following the Belgian national team's sobering preliminary round exit at the 2022 World Cup, the Royal Belgian FA underwent a shake-up at all levels. The association's CEO, Peter Bossaert, was fired due to an improper salary increase, and shortly afterwards President Paul Van den Bulck also resigned under pressure from the board. The governing body had received a letter from the management criticizing its working methods. Coach Roberto Martínez and deserving players such as Eden Hazard and Toby Alderweireld also resigned.
In order to renew the then overaged squad, Belgium's FA installed the German Domenico Tedesco as Martínez's unbiased successor. Until then, Tedesco had worked exclusively as a club coach and had not managed any of the relevant Belgian players. His task was to bring in a new generation to possibly achieve the old goal that had been narrowly missed several times: a European Championship or World Cup title.
Lukaku scored only one goal against a top nation at tournaments
After their unsuccessful start to the tournament, a 0:1 draw against Slovakia, Belgium's previous problems seem to have caught up with them. Despite a presentable performance, Tedesco's team failed to score. A lack of finishing in crucial match situations has been the core problem for many years, with only one goal in three games at the World Cup. It manifests itself at times in the personnel of striker Romelu Lukaku. He is under contract with Chelsea FC and has been loaned out to Italy on and off recently. Against the Slovakians, the goalscorer was unable to take advantage of a series of formidable chances. And when he actually put the ball in the net twice, the goals were disallowed.
The situation had similarities with the last group game of the 2022 World Cup, when Romelu Lukaku came into the game at second half with an injury and missed a number of opportunities that were almost impossible to miss. He also suffered a similarly notable mishap at club level in the Champions League final he lost with Inter Milan in 2023. Lukaku's goalscoring record in the national jersey, as in all his club appearances, is remarkable. He has scored 85 goals in 116 international appearances for Belgium and eleven goals in 23 appearances at tournaments. However, he has scored nine of them since the 2014 World Cup in clear preliminary round victories against Ireland, Panama, Tunisia, Russia and Finland. The 31-year-old scored his only goal against a top nation in the 2021 European Championship quarter-final against tournament winners Italy - it was a penalty.
Coach Tedesco wanted to strengthen Lukaku - but probably assigned him too prominent a role
The record suggests that Lukaku, who has repeatedly been racially vilified, lacks the fortune to be an exceptional international striker. This is probably due to his lack of precision in receiving the ball and finishing - as well as his fragile disposition. It is an open secret that Lukaku's image as an imperturbable giant is probably more of an illusion. He has always put in his best performances when the pressure was reasonably bearable, such as during Inter's unassailable championship win in 2021.
At this European Championship, however, the opposite is the case. All eyes are also on Romelu Lukaku because his coach has given him a prominent position. As a sign of appreciation, Tedesco appointed him as deputy captain behind Kevin De Bruyne, together with world-class goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who is considered vain. In his absence, Tedesco wanted to strengthen Lukaku and gave him the captaincy for an international match in June 2023, where Courtois, of all people, was honored for his services in the national jersey. The Real Madrid goalkeeper felt snubbed and left the quarters in a hurry. Tedesco described the situation in detail to the public, which infuriated Courtois.
The rift with Courtois remains unresolved
Shortly after the incident, Courtois suffered a cruciate ligament rupture and announced at the end of 2023 that he was "not one hundred percent ready" for the upcoming European Championship. This was presumably the best goalkeeper in the world at the time, in order to prevent Tedesco from not nominating him. A few weeks ago, he returned to the Real goal and made some impressive saves to secure the top flight victory against Borussia Dortmund. In March 2024, Tedesco made a cryptic and imprecise statement about Courtois, saying that he had tried "everything, really everything". Courtois commented on a post with the quote with Pinocchio emojis.
The unresolved dispute now accompanies the Belgians in a similar way to the deep rifts between individual players at the last World Cup. The team visibly lacked stability in both penalty areas in the first game. Courtois substitute Koen Casteels from VfL Wolfsburg deflected a shot right at the feet of Slovakian goal scorer Ivan Schranz, who then shot over him from an acute angle. The move looked so unfortunate that it was hard to imagine Courtois conceding such a goal. And up front, Tedesco's approach has more or less permanently committed himself to Romelu Lukaku as a center forward. Opinions are growing that Loïs Openda could perhaps be an alternative after his strong season at RB Leipzig.
Belgium probably need at least one win from their remaining group games against Romania on Saturday and Ukraine to progress. Otherwise the next upheaval could be imminent.