Real Madrid star admits World Cup exit is embarrassing

A number of Real Madrid players are enjoying a great World Cup and seem to even have a good chance to win it all. On the other hand, there are a few others, who must have been left disappointed with how the tournament turned out for them individually as well as their national team.

Belgium were particularly disappointing at this edition of the World Cup, after having finished third in 2018. While there were many who believed that their Golden Generation’s best chance had already passed, not many could have expected them to be knocked out from the group stage itself this time around.

One man who had a pretty average World Cup is Thibaut Courtois, with his performance against Morocco in particular coming under the microscope.

Courtois has arguably been the best goalkeeper on the planet over the past couple of years but at this World Cup, he did not have a good time. Not one to mix his words, he made it clear that he was not pleased with how things have turned out. As reported by GOAL, the Real Madrid number one said:

"“In this World Cup and in the Euro we were not ourselves, it is a bit embarrassing. We will see what will happen, who will stay, who will not stay. Football, it’s going fast. In March there are already qualifying matches for the Euros. It’s hard to call yourself a ‘Golden Generation’ when you don’t win anything. We are not a golden generation, we are a generation with a lot of talent and great players from all over Europe.”"

Real Madrid star admits that World Cup exit is a bit embarrassing

There is no doubt that for a long time, Belgium had one of the best squads on the planet. With the likes of Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku, Kevin de Bruyne, Courtois himself, and several other top players in their ranks, it is a bit of a mystery how they never even reached a final over the past decade.

Their chance has gone now though. Hazard and Lukaku looked like mere shells of their former selves, De Bruyne disappointed massively and Courtois was not much better, at the 2022 World Cup.

When the tournament comes around again four years later, most of the players from their ‘Golden Generation’ are not expected to be involved. And looking back, they might go down as one of the most underachieving teams in history.