Are they as good as they should be?

WHEN you look through the Belgium squad, it’s hard not to be awestruck — even very anxious — at the sheer amount of quality available to them. The wonder, then, is what manager Marc Wilmots sees when he looks at them. Whatever it is, he seems to ensure that players of such brilliance play well beneath themselves.

It is a growing issue around the team and, for all the talk around Europe that Belgium could be potential winners of this tournament, many in the country feel there is a danger of wasting a golden generation. They certainly aren’t playing as entertainingly as they should be. Despite expressive players like Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard, they often look rigid, stuck on tram lines. There are two Wilmots’ statements that sum up why that is, and also sum up why he is possibly the wrong man in charge of such a gifted squad.

One: “Everybody wants to play beautiful football but that can’t be at the expense of discipline and efficiency, because that’s how you get results.”

Two, on Marouane Fellaini: “He is a very good player with a unique profile.”

So, of all the distinctive talent at his disposal, Fellaini is the player Wilmots describes as unique: a battering ram. He is also the player Wilmots often turns to. Fellaini doesn’t always start games but, if Belgium are not winning, he will be brought on to play off a striker. That explains why, of all the attacking talent, the Manchester United midfielder is the top scoring player in the squad and why he got the key first goal in the World Cup.

Many around the Belgian team believe that the experience of Brazil 2014 will spark an evolution for Euro 2016, and there is also the fact that Wilmots is popular among the players for the atmosphere and spirit he creates.

A minority, however, are beginning to wonder whether the football could be more expansive. That could turn into a majority if Belgium don’t turn it on. As it stands, though, their stars should not blind people to the fact they have yet to dazzle as a team. They could be fantastic, but are so far only functional.