Brussels [Belgium], June 8 (ANI): Former Belgium footballer Eden Hazard dismissed the men's national side's long-talked-about 'golden generation' tag since they ended a 12-year absence from the tournament in 2014 as 'journalist speak', saying that the the trophy is a hard one to win and the team is really proud of their third-place finish in the 2018 edition.

From 2014 to 2022, Belgium played some of their best football as a side, with a line-up featuring successful and well-accomplished club-level icons like Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, and Vincent Kompany, Thibaut Courtois making up a 'golden generation' of Belgium stars which achieved a quarterfinal finish in the 2014 edition, a bronze in the 2018 position, before a group stage exit in the 2022 edition in Qatar. Before this, the fourth-place finish in the 1986 WC at Mexico was Netherlands' best finish.

Now, in the 2026 edition, some of the biggest names of this generation, such as De Bruyne, Courtois, Lukaku, Dembele etc are still around, with exciting talents like Jeremy Doku and Charles De Ketelaere.

Speaking on the team's 'golden generation' tag, saying as quoted by FIFA's official website, 'That is journalist-speak', commented the 35-year-old. ''Golden generation', 'silver generation' - you could call it whatever you want. We knew that we had a great group of players performing for top clubs who were winning trophies every year, and we were all a similar age and maturing at the same time. The World Cup is a tough trophy to win. Yes, we could have won one! We had a great run. The squad and the country are extremely proud of what we did in 2018,' he added.

Hazard, now having retired from the sport, will be following the sport as a fan and backs teams like France, Spain, England and Portugal to lift the title and Willian Pacho's Ecuador to 'pull off a surprise run'. He is also keeping a close eye on his successors in the Belgium jersey, Charles De Ketelaere and Jeremy Doku and teammates De Bruyne and Lukaku, as they face Egypt, Iran and New Zealand in Group G, starting their campaign from June 15 onwards in Seattle.

'There's no doubt that Belgium are the best side in that group,' said the former Chelsea star. 'But that first game (against Egypt) is never easy. The squad is a mix of the old guard and a new generation who are starting to come through. The fact that they are not being tipped as favourites will allow them to play with more freedom and composure. Expectations in Belgium are high, of course, but less so than in 2018 and 2022,' he added.

Rudi Garcia, who handed Hazard his professional debut at Lille in 2008, is now the national side coach. Hazard has backed him, saying that even though he has not coached a national team before, it is not a problem.

'He has enough experience for the job, and he will know how to handle it. He is a coach who speaks his mind and he is a really great person. I think that's exactly what we need,' he added.

FIFA World Cup 2026 - Belgium's full squadGoalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid), Senne Lammens (Manchester United), Mike Penders (Strasbourg)

Defenders: Timothy Castagne (Fulham), Zeno Debast (Sporting CP), Maxim De Cuyper (Brighton), Koni De Winter (AC Milan), Brandon Mechele (Club Brugge), Thomas Meunier (Lille), Nathan Ngoy (Lille), Joaquin Seys (Club Brugge), Arthur Theate (Eintracht Frankfurt)

Midfielders: Kevin De Bruyne (Napoli), Amadou Onana (Aston Villa), Nicolas Raskin (Rangers), Youri Tielemans (Aston Villa), Hans Vanaken (Club Brugge), Axel Witsel (Girona)

Forwards: Charles De Ketelaere (Atalanta), Jeremy Doku (Manchester City), Matias Fernandez Pardo (Lille), Romelu Lukaku (Napoli), Dodi Lukebakio (Benfica), Diego Moreira (Strasbourg), Alexis Saelemaekers (AC Milan), Leandro Trossard (Arsenal). (ANI)