Eden Hazard's dazzling displays propelled Belgium to podium finish in 2018
Midfield playmaker was at the peak of his powers as the Red Devils took bronze
Belgian maestro scooped the adidas Silver Ball as the tournament's second-best player
In its hit animated series What If…?, Marvel explores how its most popular stories might have unfolded if a single key event in the lives of its superheroes had been different. However, there was no need for fans of to travel into the multiverse to imagine parallel realities: the gave them plenty of real-life opportunities to reflect on what might have been.
Indeed, many have wondered what destiny would have had in store if ’s Red Devils had ultimately been crowned world champions on 15 July 2018 instead of being edged out 1-0 by eventual winners France in the semi-finals. The answer lies beyond reach, but their easy-on-the-eye football would have made that a fitting alternate ending to their tournament story, rather than merely the stuff of science fiction.
The former mercurial midfielder, who brought the curtain down on his career in October 2023 after having retired from the international game following his country’s group-stage exit at , told FIFA: “Looking back, we’re incredibly proud of what we achieved during that fantastic adventure in 2018.”
Although erstwhile Belgium boss Roberto Martinez had a galaxy of talent, including the likes of Romelu Lukaku, Hazard’s former Chelsea team-mate Thibaut Courtois and Kevin De Bruyne, at his disposal for the global extravaganza, it was the diminutive skipper who served as the team’s orchestrator-in-chief and was more than worthy of the adidas Silver Ball in recognition of his stellar campaign.
The ex-Lille and Real Madrid trickster was spoilt for choice when quizzed about the highlight of that remarkable run, which culminated in a third-place finish: “Well, there was the quarter-final against Brazil, but there was also the victory over Japan in the round of 16.”
Tipped for glory after a flawless group stage, Belgium found themselves unexpectedly trailing 2-0 in the 52nd minute of the showdown against the Japanese, before staging an incredible comeback to win 3-2 in one of the most dramatic finishes in the tournament’s history.
“Morale is at rock bottom when you’re two goals down; everyone’s thinking, ‘Oh, this is rubbish, it’s a disaster, we’re going to lose again, we’re going to be heading home!,’ and then you get to the end of the match and you’ve snatched the winner in the dying moments,” Hazard recalled. “I remember that, at the time, we were being sent all these videos from back home of people going wild, and that’s when you realise why you’ve got to keep going. It’s for them.”
As Hazard so succinctly put it, “There’d have been no match against Brazil had we not beaten Japan,” and the Red Devils seized the opportunity by putting on an impish masterclass in the last-eight contest against the five-time world champions. After just over half an hour, the Europeans were already two goals to the good, thanks in no small part to Hazard’s heavy involvement and a stunning strike from De Bruyne. Although the South Americans halved the deficit with a little under a quarter of an hour to play, the Belgians held on and thoroughly deserved their semi-final spot.
“It got a bit dicey towards the end, I must admit,” the former skipper said with a smile. “I think the fatigue from the match against Japan began to take its toll. I’ve played in countless matches but this was one of the few times in my entire career when I found myself sitting in the dressing room completely drained, but determined to savour every second of that wonderful victory.”
Martinez’s men may well have found untapped reserves of inner strength for that make-or-break match-up from the quiet, intimate moments spent away from the public eye with their loved ones. “In our second match against Tunisia [which Belgium won 5-2], my family were in the stands,” said Hazard. “I bagged a brace and had a brilliant game, and that evening, when we were all together, I thought about how wonderful it was to be able to share the occasion as a family.”
As it happened, before taking on the Seleçao, the Belgian boys treated themselves to a relaxing evening around a barbecue. “You could’ve been forgiven for forgetting that a World Cup was going on. We were really in a holiday mood, making the most of those magical moments and kicking the ball about with each other’s children, even though we had a World Cup quarter-final just two days later. It was a truly special time,” Hazard remembered.
What proved to be the Belgians’ penultimate match on Russian soil was as memorable as it was frustrating for Hazard, with the deadlock in the tightest of affairs against the French ultimately broken by Samuel Umtiti’s flicked header from a corner kick in the 51st minute and no further goals forthcoming. However, the result could just as easily have swung in Belgium’s favour. “It was a World Cup semi-final between two top teams that could’ve gone either way. When all’s said and done, the game was decided by the finest of margins. We had our fair share of chances and so did they. At the time, you’re just gutted not to have made the final,” he commented.
Having spent his childhood in the Wallonia region of Belgium before honing his craft at the academy of French outfit Lille, Hazard has long held a soft spot for Les Bleus, which blossomed during Belgian football’s lean years in the early 2000s. However, that was scant consolation when the final whistle blew on that fateful night in Saint Petersburg.
“I’m Belgian, I was captain of the Belgian team. I was Belgium’s number-one fan. My second team has always been France, especially as I have friends who play for them. I spent seven years there and when I go back today, people treat me almost like an honorary Frenchman. France has been a big part of my life,” Hazard admitted. “Les Bleus may have won that World Cup, but I didn’t celebrate because I wanted to win it myself. Then again, if someone else is going to win it, it might as well be France!”
Hazard and his team-mates weathered every storm and gave their all to secure third place, beating England 2-0 in the sides’ second meeting at that edition and capturing the hearts of a new generation of fans in the process. “After what we achieved in 2018, it was no longer about whether you came from Flanders or Wallonia. The whole of Belgium united as one. The entire country really got behind us. Suddenly, everyone was speaking the same language: that of football,” he revealed.
Every superhero story needs a homecoming, and for Hazard, who has stayed on in Madrid after representing Los Merengues, the most-cherished moment was the team’s return to Brussels, bedecked in bronze medals, to be greeted by thousands of jubilant supporters. “Those images stay with you for life. I don’t go back to Belgium very often, but when I do, people almost talk more about the celebrations in the Grand Place than about the World Cup itself. If truth be told, we were made to feel like champions for a fleeting few minutes that day,” the Belgian great reminisced.
In the end, it is perhaps not worth dwelling on what might have been had Hazard and Co reigned supreme at the 2018 World Cup. Maybe that generation’s real superpower was not the ability to deliver a trophy, but to give an entire country a memory that will stand the test of time.
Sources: FIFA Official
