With Belgium bound for their fourth consecutive FIFA World Cup™, Rudi Garcia’s immediate aim is to help the team to move on from their disappointing group-stage exit at Qatar 2022.
The 62-year-old coach sat down with FIFA to share his thoughts on the challenge ahead and began with a statement of intent: “We need to distinguish between our objective and our ambition. Our priority is to get through the group stage. Let’s come out on top so that we earn a more favourable draw and, ideally, stay put [in Seattle for the Round of 32]. That will be the objective!”
Nevertheless, there is no denying that the Europeans are the overwhelming favourites to top Group G. With 14 World Cup campaigns already under their belt, they possess vastly greater pedigree on the global stage than the rest of the group combined, eclipsing Egypt’s three, Iran’s six and New Zealand’s two appearances to date.
The Red Devils have also hit far greater World Cup heights than their upcoming opponents, having reached the semi-finals twice – most recently in 2018 – whilst none of their Group G rivals have ever progressed beyond the first round. In fact, both the Pharaohs and the All Whites are still searching for their first-ever win at the global showpiece.
Although the odds appear to be in their favour, Garcia is taking nothing for granted. “We have a huge amount of respect for the other three sides in our group,” he stressed. “This is what the World Cup is all about. We know Egypt well; they’re one of the best teams in Africa. I know all about Mo Salah as I coached him at Roma. We’re also up against a team from Oceania and one from Asia. We’re obviously less familiar with them as we don’t see them play as often, but we’re looking forward to finding out what the Iranian and New Zealand teams are made of.”
“Let’s start by respecting our group-stage opponents. Let’s beat them, finish top of the group, and then we’ll see how far we can go,” he added.
Unlike four years ago, Belgium will be heading to the tournament without many of the stars who inspired their third-place finish at the Russia 2018. Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen, Dries Mertens and former captain Eden Hazard have all retired.
Yet, with the virtuosic Kevin De Bruyne continuing to pull the strings, the commanding Thibaut Courtois back between the posts and all-time leading goalscorer Romelu Lukaku set to keep leading the line – fitness concerns notwithstanding – the Europeans still have plenty of reasons for optimism.
Moreover, up-and-comers, including talented trio Jeremy Doku, Leandro Trossard and Diego Moreira, appear more than ready to pick up the baton.
Garcia has no shortage of quality at his disposal, with his squad steeped in experience of elite European competition. “I’ve never lacked ambition,” admitted the tactician. “We’ll go as far as possible. Then again, it also comes down to the luck of the draw. But, as I said, we’re very driven, we’re aiming high and our squad is capable of achieving great things.”
Garcia may be ambitious, but he is certainly under no illusions about the task ahead, well aware that Belgium – sitting ninth in the FIFA/Coca-Cola Men’s World Ranking ahead of their final warm-up matches – have lost some of their lustre since their legendary run in 2018.
“For six years – maybe longer – Belgium topped the FIFA rankings. The team dubbed the ‘golden generation’ were tipped as the frontrunners to win at both Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022, but ultimately fell short on both occasions. The picture is very different these days. We’ll just be the underdogs, but I don’t mind that – in fact, I prefer it.”
Nevertheless, the Red Devils’ coach concluded with a defiant message: “We should fear nobody, that’s for sure. I’ve already told the players: we have to believe we can go toe-to-toe with any team.”
