ESPN FC’s Gab Marcotti and Julien Laurens (The Gab and Juls Show) take a closer look at Belgium following their Euro 2020 exit at the hands of Italy. Many were quick to write Euro 2020 off as the last chance for Belgium’s ‘golden generation’ to win a trophy, but Gab and Juls think the emergence of Rennes’ Jeremy Doku proves otherwise.
0:00 Jeremy Doku emerges on the big stage
1:11 Doku’s story so far
2:07 Are Belgium’s golden generation really finished?
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26 Comments
Doku like Mane, lacks composure patience and finesse. Its all pace and power all the time.
I rewatched the game. Other than a few runs and the penalty he did not do much in the game and was actually controlled. Before I rewatched the game I thought he was out of this world.
Just a boy can't start new proper good generation… only one golden generation can exist
The duku tree
Klopp can get Dokus finishing up to par 👀🙂😬
Full of skillfull players but no champion mentality 😊
Doku's generation will be another golden one. Hugo Siquet, Jeremy Doku, Zeno Debast, Lucas Stassin, Alexis Saelemaekers, Luca Oyen, Mathis Servais, Romeo Lavia. These players are all around the same age and are stars to be.
This golden generation should succeed at euro 2016 and world cup 2018 because they at the peak of their career ….But they messed up by Wales and lose to France….This current team nowhere near the team that they have for the past years…..In terms of forms ,age and achievements in their respective clubs…..
Zero end product.
Mancini > Martinez
Reason Italy went through
Just like fifa. Everyone is drawn to players who have pace and enough footwork to get by players. Real fans know that there’s a lot more to the game than pace. Yes it helps a lot. But it’s sad that the high iq, complete package midfielders don’t get anywhere near the recognition as another young fast prospect gets
Sancho replacement
Yeah he was sharp and superb in this EUROS
Belgium's golden generation is done, this is a fake Belgium.
The 2018 Belgium was the golden generation.
Kompany leading them out with Toby,Vertonghen, Vermaelen all at their peak.
Midfield of Fellaini, Naingolan, Witsel, KDB all at their peak.
Hazard and Dries were also at the peak.
Now with Dendonkers and Boyatas??
he was not afraid to go up against the italy defense
287th comment
Though as a neutral i wanted italy to win, doku deserved a goal and he was intense and crazy energy, had this game gone to ET belgium probably would have won
Nah the Belgian golden generation is done. Doku is good enough to be a golden generation player, but there aren't enough Belgian players at or near Dou's quality who are 18-23 years old
The thing is that this Belgian generation has a real opportunity to win something. Honestly I think 2016 was their best chance, as 2014 they were too young, 2018 they were at their peak but France was at their too, and 2020 they were past their peak. For me 2016-2018 was this generation's peak, but in 2016 there weren't as many good teams. Remember, if Belgium had beaten Wales in the quarters, they would have played an average Portugal in semis (who knows if they win, but doable) and then France in the final (sure they were at home but they lost to Portugal, so I could have seen them beat France in the final)
What Julien doesn't get is the term "golden generation" is relative to the specific country. For example, I would say Brazil's 2014 team was their worst in the modern era, yet if almost any nation besides the big nations had Brazil 2014's lineup, it would be their golden generation. If Egypt or South Korea or Ghana had Brazil 2014's team it would be considered their golden generation. Similarly, you could argue that 2014-2020 was Iceland's golden generation, yet if Brazil had Iceland's roster for the 2018 World Cup, it would be considered their worst of all time. So if you are a big nation like Brazil, Germany, Italy, Argentina etc and have your golden generation, you should expect to win a title, but if you are a smaller nation, a golden generation might mean that you could CONTEND for a title, and for some just means you QUALIFY. That being said, in a previous comment I said that Belgium's best chance was probably euro 2016. In 2012 I saw this generation of Belgian players coming and I thought they maybe had a 40-50% chance of winning a title, as I thought the World Cup was just beyond them (I was wrong in that sense; Belgium lost to France in a pretty even game and had they won I think they would have beaten Croatia in the final), but maybe they could win a euro. 2016 was the ultimate disappointment because they were on the favorable side of the bracket and most teams were in transition. Yes it was disappointing for Belgium not to win, because they really could have, but for me the only extreme disappointment was euro 2016 (euro 2020 to a lesser degree). 2014 was too soon, 2018 WC they played well, they just lost a close game to the eventual champion in the semis. 2020 they lost to an Italian side who played better. It was definitely within Belgium to beat this Italy side but they didn't play egregiously poorly as I think they did against Wales in euro 2016. Euro 2016 was THE tournament for them to win. But remember, since the 1990s, Belgium had been a middling European football nation, so being in and around winning a tournament for 4 straight tournaments is something to be happy about. The main thing to be upset about if you are Belgian is generations like this could take another 30 years to happen, and this was your shot to win something
Incredible talent
Doku come to play with the international Milano!!!
I'm not convinced (yet). He reminds me of a young Shaun Wright Phillips – fast, likes to dribble, high work rate…but ultimately lacking in end product (and never got it). Let's see if he becomes a Sadio Mane or remains a SWP.
Meunier only played because Castagne was injured.
Perhaps Doku could have done EVEN MORE as a sub in that game, after Carrasco had worn out the defenders for 70 minutes.
We'll never know. 🤷♀️
You're only golden when you win stuff, so so far it hasn't been a golden generation. They've been brilliant many a time but as a Belgian I think we should be happy that at least this time we went out to a superior team. Italy was better, and so far nobody I've talked to here has denied that. The last world cup was a different matter though and still tastes a bit sour. But we can console ourselves knowing that we gave a spectacle every minute of this EC 🙂