Over the last 12-14 years I've always felt like Belgium have 7 or 8 quality players with a sprinkling of Nacer Chadli.
They've had either a good defence or a good attack for about 20 years but there was only a very brief period where they had both and they wasted it with Roberto fucking Martinez.
I've always thought this is a bit unfair.
The wasted opportunity was 2016 under Wilmots - Alderweireld, Vermaelen and Verthongen at their best, Nainggolan playing like he was one of the best midfielders in Europe at the time, Dembélé, Lukaku, Mertens and Hazard having the best time of their careers, De Bruyne off a great first season with Man City, Witsel and Benteke at the perfect age. Only to shit the bed against a plucky but not-great Wales in the quarter-final.
Then in 2018 under Martinez, a good squad turned up and played really well. But they were already weaker than 2016 - the defenders now the wrong side of thirty, Hazard and Lukaku already getting slower and the squad being padded with the also-rans that became more numerous in the years that followed (Thorgan Hazard, Dendoncker, Januzaj, Boyata, Chadli etc).
Even then, they did (I would argue, relative to expectations - they were sixth favourites before it started) better than par. Really good all the way to the semi and losing by the odd goal to the best team in the tournament who comfortably won the final. I don't buy that being the third best officially, and clearly the second best in reality was a waste.
That's the very brief period that you talk about when they were great, the squad goes downhill quickly in 2021 / 2022 / 2024.
