WhatтАЩs being billed by some as the last hurrah for BelgiumтАЩs тАЬgolden generationтАЭ begins with two of the teamтАЩs long-time stalwarts likely missing from its opening match of the European Championship.
Injury and fitness concerns mean neither Kevin De Bruyne nor Eden Hazard is set to start against Russia on Saturday at Saint Petersburg Stadium, where the BelgiansтАЩ World Cup hopes in 2018 died in a loss to France.
They return to the same venue three years later as the worldтАЩs top-ranked team тАФ they have been in that position since October 2018 тАФ but with doubts about the availability of their two star attacking midfielders, and maybe a bit more.
De Bruyne is probably the least of coach Roberto MartinezтАЩs concerns, despite linking up with the squad a week late after fracturing his nose and eye socket during Manchester CityтАЩs loss to Chelsea in the Champions League final. The playmaker required a minor operation and has been following an individual training program, so he didn’t travel to St. Petersburg for the team’s opening game against Russia.
Martinez said he expects De Bruyne to be ready to play in BelgiumтАЩs second game, against Denmark in Copenhagen on June 17, when he might be wearing a face mask.
HazardтАЩs health is slightly less clear-cut, with the winger in far-from-perfect shape after an injury-disrupted season with Real Madrid and only being a substitute in Euro 2020 warmup games.
Martinez said Hazard still needed to get тАЬmatch intensityтАЭ so is likely to be on the bench again for the game against Russia, whose chances of an upset win suddenly have improved.
ThereтАЩs still much to like about Belgium: the goals of striker Romelu Lukaku, the flourishing of midfielder Youri Tielemans, the foraging runs of wing back Thomas Meunier, the consistency of goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. The experience of more than 1,300 international appearances in the squad should also stand Belgium in good stead when it comes to pressure situations in a major tournament.
Yet is there a worry that the Belgians have a squad with one of the oldest average ages, at 28.7 years, at the end of a pandemic-congested season? That Martinez is still relying on a bunch of 30-somethings in defense in Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen and Thomas Vermaelen? That Axel Witsel, the main holding midfielder, is 32 and coming off a four-month absence with a torn Achilles tendon injury that has ruled him out of the start of the tournament?
There is a widespread acceptance that this might be BelgiumтАЩs best chance of winning a European Championship or World Cup for the first time, at least for this current generation.
тАЬNow is the time for us to win something. Maybe itтАЩs now or never,тАЭ Belgium midfielder Leander Dendoncker said this week.
Counting against MartinezтАЩs players somewhat is the fact they will have to travel for all of their games in the continent-wide competition.
тАЬIn terms of logistics, itтАЩs probably the hardest we couldтАЩve had,тАЭ Martinez said.
Unlike Russia, which plays its first two Group B games in St. Petersburg. Remember, it was on home soil that Russia reached the quarterfinals of the World Cup in 2018, beating Spain along the way.
Not that playing at home did the Russians any good against Belgium in qualifying for Euro 2020, though. In their next-to-last group game, Russia conceded four goals at home for the first time in a competitive match in losing 4-1, also in St. Petersburg.
Playing in front of a potential 30,000 fans, among the biggest group-stage attendances at the tournament, can only spur on Russia in its fifth straight appearance at the European Championship.
A calf injury to experienced defender Fyodor Kudryashov sustained during the warmup match against Bulgaria last week handed coach Stanislav Cherchesov an eve-of-tournament problem. And on Friday, Russia winger Andrey Mostovoy became the first player to be cut from a team at the tournament after testing positive for the virus.
Cherchesov will be crossing his fingers no injury befalls Artem Dzyuba, who lost the captaincy last year because of a social-media scandal but remains a crucial member of the team as its main scorer.
Indeed, the 32-year-old striker needs one more goal to tie the record for RussiaтАЩs national team of 30, held by Alexander Kerzhakov, since the breakup of the Soviet Union.
