This Belgium-Slovakia resembled those moments of déjà vu. Those moments when you feel like you’ve already experienced what happened. Monday, in Frankfurt, we traveled in time between 2002, 2014, 2016, 2021 and 2022. A new opus of Back to the future. One episode too many with a failed version. The flashbacks went in all directions, without following any chronological order.
The parallel with 2016: Tedesco holder
Tedesco surprises by starting Carrasco in a defensive role on the left flank, as Martinez had imagined when arriving at the head of the Devils. With a different animation, but the same idea: to compensate for the recurring problem at this position. Too bad for young De Cuyper, the only one to play in this position at club. With everyone absent, the federal coach tinkered, but his work did not hold up.
“First twist”; “the Romelu Lukaku drama”: the Red Devils are heavily criticized after the defeat against Slovakia at the Euro
The parallel with 2014: a defeat in the first match
Ten years ago to the day, the young Belgian generation began the World Cup in Brazil with great enthusiasm. But the Algerian Feghouli cooled the atmosphere by opening the score in the first half. This time the executioner is called Schranz. After seven minutes, the Slovak winger punished Doku’s risk-taking, tempted by an ambitious technical move in front of his corner post. Perhaps intoxicated by his explosive start on the right side. A stupidity coming from the gondola head of this new generation, the one which should make us forget the glorious old ones. Like a symbol. Monday, the baton fell and the relay missed its race, unlike the Devils of 2014 who had turned the game around. Fortunately, there is a draft, or even two.
The parallel with 2022: an arbitration error
Mr. Umut Meler prefers to see an offensive foul from Doku than a hand from Duda in the rectangle. An excessively slight fault which prevents intervention from the Var. Our refereeing consultant is categorical: there was a penalty. And the flash of past mistakes resurfaces. Wilmots will certainly have thought about it. But it was not Brazil opposite and the excuse will be too weak to explain the surprise of the defeat.
Tit for tat with Teklak: “The basic plan was good and we should have led after 20 minutes”
The parallel with 2021: the malice of the adversary
Even before the end of the first period, the Slovaks used all the tricks to break the rhythm. The data from the two staff trainers must be impressive, even if we did not find them in the ranking of the number of kilometers traveled. The Turkish referee falls into the trap every time. We see ourselves again in Munich three years earlier when the Slovenian referee was unable to do anything against the mischief of the Italians in the quarter-final. Breaking the entire end of the match and preventing the Belgians from equalizing. Slovak coach Calzona must have remembered this masterclass of irritating, but never illegal, professionalism. The 48th in the Fifa ranking played with his weapons and owes nothing to anyone.
The parallel with 2022: Lukaku’s waste
Despite a clear lack of inspiration, with De Bruyne looking for himself, the Devils have opportunities, but Lukaku is still missing something to put it in the back. Even though he has scored 17 goals since then for the national team, the center forward has yet to exorcise Qatar’s nightmare. His match looked like his waste against Croatia, in what was also his first match of the tournament. Monday in Frankfurt, Big Rom will have scored twice, but Var will have deprived him twice of an 86th international rose. Well Named. For an offside then for a hand fault from Openda. The next few days will be difficult for Lukaku. We will have to wait until Saturday, against Romania, to chase away our old demons.
We believed until the end that it was a bad dream. That we were going to wake up after a strange night full of déjà vu. But the referee’s three whistles did not coincide with the wake-up call. Belgium plunges back into doubt from the first defeat of the Tedesco era, after its fifteenth meeting. We will have to beat the astonishing Romanians on Saturday in Cologne to have another déjà vu: the too early eliminations in 1998, 2000 and 2022.
