IT was billed as a ‘golden generation’, but like so many teams saddled with that tag, the current crop of Belgian players have not quite managed to live up to their reputation. Now, with a number of key performers coming towards the end of their international career, the challenge facing Roberto Martinez’s side in Qatar is to prove they have not lost their lustre entirely.

Martinez’s loyalty to his old guard is perhaps understandable given that they made it all the way to semi-finals in Russia before going down narrowly to France and are still ranked number two in the world in the FIFA rankings.

The fear, though, is that time has caught up with the likes of Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen, Axel Witsel, Dries Mertens, Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku, and that their best days might well be behind them.

Thibaut Courtois remains a world-class goalkeeper, and Kevin de Bruyne is as good as anyone on display in Qatar, but where is the next generation that should gradually be displacing the raft of 30-somethings from Martinez’s starting side?

Aside from Youri Tielemans, who has forced his way into the team thanks to the quality of his performances with Leicester City, there are largely notable only because of their absence, and while Martinez will be hoping to elicit a final hurrah from his veterans, this could well prove a tournament too far. Unless, of course, de Bruyne decides to win three or four games by himself, which is hardly beyond the bounds of possibility.

Croatia are likely to provide Belgium stiffest test in the group phase, although like their opponents in their final group game, the Croatians also have the look of a side that is coming towards the end of its current cycle.

For the likes of Alderweireld, Hazard and Lukaku in the Belgium team, read Dejan Lovren, Ivan Perisic and Luka Modric in the Croatia squad, top-class performers who are surely heading into their final World Cup with their powers potentially on the wane.

Modric remains the heartbeat of the Croatian team at the age of 37, but head coach Zlatko Dalic has introduced a smattering of youthful talent and his side is in good form, having beaten both France and Denmark in the Nations League in the summer. As they proved in 2018, when they made it all the way to the final Croatia can be a dangerous side when they get on a roll.

Their opening group game pits them against Morocco, who cruised through qualifying as the only African side to win all of their games. New coach Walid Regragui was appointed in August with the aim of making Morocco more adventurous, and he immediately recalled Chelsea’s Hakim Ziyech to the international fold.

Ziyech should help Morocco play with more of a swagger, along with Paris St Germain’s attacking right-back Achraf Hakimi, and the ‘Atlas Lions’ look like live outsiders to make it out of the group.

They should certainly be stronger than Canada, who return to the World Cup after a 36-year absence under the watchful eye of County Durham-born head coach John Herdman.

Canada’s qualification was greeted with huge excitement back home, and in Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies and Lille striker Jonathan David, Herdman can call on a couple of players with extensive experience of Europe’s top leagues.

The rest of the squad is rather less proven, however, and given the strength of their group opponents, Canada will do well to avoid finishing at the foot of the table.