KEVIN DE BRUYNE,

Midfielder, Belgium,

Club: Manchester City (Eng)

Will Kevin de Bruyne join the list of club legends who have struggled to impose themselves in major international tournaments? By the end of this World Cup, his third, we will know. De Bruyne is the beating heart of Manchester City, a serial winner of domestic titles, and that alone is saying a lot given how many creative players they have. In 2020, City manager Pep Guardiola called the Belgian the world’s best midfielder. Two years later, and given how quickly he has forged an understanding with Erling Haaland -- the big Norwegian is regularly scoring by sliding in to meet a De Bruyne assist -- to ensure that Guardiola’s assertion still rings true.

But with Belgium? The team, ranked No. 2 in the world behind Brazil, have not played in the final of a major competition. In 2018, they were stopped in the semi-final by France, four years prior to that it was Argentina who halted their run in the quarter-final, and in the Euro, it was Italy’s turn to do that in the Round of 8. In the 2016 Euro, Wales shocked them in the quarter-final after Belgium failed to protect an early lead. Barring 2016, where Belgium lost 3-1, they have all been one-goal defeats. Exactly the kind of situation where the vision of De Bruyne or his ability to conjure a goal from range with his remarkable shooting prowess could have made the difference.

Belgium have had the same core for nearly 10 years, central defenders Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld have played a total of 264 international games, and there are six players with over 100 caps. “Of course, we’ve got an incredible generation of players, but we still haven’t won anything. If we really want to earn that ‘golden generation’ nickname, I think that’s the one thing we still need to do,” skipper Eden Hazard has said. De Bruyne needs to step up in Doha for that to happen.