Kevin de Bruyne says Belgium are too old to win World Cup

Belgium midfielder Kevin De Bruyne has claimed that the national side have ‘no chance to win the World Cup’ and are ‘too old’ for the competition.

The Manchester City star went on to say that his country have ‘lost key players’ from the ‘Golden Generation’ that finished third in Russia four years back.

Belgium sit top of the standings in Group F beating Canada 1-0 and play Morocco and Croatia next in their quest to qualify for the knockout stages.

Belgian Average Age

The average age of the Belgium squad is the sixth oldest with half of the starting eleven against Canada being over 30.

The Manchester City star feels that his country’s chance to grab the coveted World Cup trophy has already passed them by.

The 31-year-old said, “No chance, we’re too old” when quizzed on his country’s chances in Qatar in an interview with the Guardian. De Bruyne continued, “I think our chance was 2018. We have a good team, but it is ageing. We lost some key players. We have some good new players coming, but they are not at the level other players were in 2018. I see us more as outsiders.”.

Despite winning against Canada, the Red Devils were far from their best. The European side failed to put up a dominant performance against the North American outfit and would consider themselves lucky to secure the three points.

Alphonso Davies missed a penalty while Canada were clearly the better side of the two and could have easily scored and even gone on to win had they not been guilty of spurning golden opportunities.

De Bruyne starred against Canada

De Bruyne was later awarded the man of the match but the right footed twinkled toed star disagreed with the verdict mentioning it was his reputation that won him the prize.

The Belgians are expected to make a deep run in the tournament and it remains to be seen if De Bruyne’s teammates can prove his statements wrong in the Gulf Nation.

The Belgian has the pivotal figure in Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City side who have won the Premier League titles four times in the last five years. Despite Arsenal leading the table this season, City are still favorites to win the title come in May.

Photo credit: IMAGO / Belga