In the past decade the Belgian national team has fielded some of the best players in their respective positions in Europe.
The country with a total population of just 11.7 million people, as of 2022, has produced the likes of Thibaut Courtois, Jan Vertonghen, Toby Alderweireld, Kevin de Bruyne, Eden Hazard, and Romelu Lukaku, who have acted as the core of the team for the past decade, but the Red Devils' golden generation is ageing, with the aforementioned aged 29 or over, and this could well be the group's last chance of world glory.
Belgium have topped each of their last three tournament group stages without dropping a single point, and go into a Group F consisting of Morocco, Croatia, and second-time participants Canada expecting to finish at the top of the pile.
Qualification Path
Belgium's road to Qatar was relatively simple. The nation ranked second in the world by FIFA topped Group E with six wins and two draws from eight matches.
It all began began with a 3-1 win at home to Wales and a 1-1 draw with the Czech Republic, which was followed by the blitzing of Belarus 8-0, Estonia 5-2 and Czech Republic 3-0 in the next three matches.
Belgium continued to cruise through the group with an 1-0 away win in Belarus, a 3-1 win at home to Estonia, then rounded out an unbeaten qualification run with a 1-1 draw with Wales at the Cardiff City Stadium in November 2021.
Historical Performances
Belgium have a historical presence in the World Cup with this being their 14th qualification for the tournament since partaking in Uruguay in 1930.
The nation was previously seen as a minnow on the international stage and failed to make it out of the group stage in five of the ten tournaments before South Korea in 2002.
At Mexico 1986 the Red Devils made it out of Group B despite finishing third and went on to finish fourth in the competition having overcome the Soviet Union 4-3 after extra-time, Spain on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the quarter-finals, before a Diego Maradona double ended their dream of a first World Cup final in a 2-0 defeat to Argentina.
France were the other defeated semi-finalists and beat the Belgians 4-2 after extra-time to earn third place in Puebla.
Following the turn of the millennium, Belgium went on to have a 12-year hiatus from the competition after being knocked out by Brazil in the second round in 2002.
At Brazil 2016 the world's attention turned to the array of talent the country had to offer as Marc Wilmots' side topped their group with a 100% record and one goal conceded.
The team went on to beat the USA 2-1 after extra-time in the Round of 16, but another Argentina heartbreak put an end to their journey as Gonzalo Higuaín's 8th-minute strike was enough to knock them out in Brasília.
Belgium's best finish at a World Cup finals came in 2018 at a thrilling competition in Russia. Once again topping their group with a 100% record, the team overturned a two-goal deficit against Japan in the Round of 16 to earn a 3-2 win thanks to a sensational counter-attack in the 94th-minute, went on to beat Brazil 2-1, before losing 1-0 to eventual winners France in a tight semi-final encounter.
The Red Devils faced familiar foes England, who they had defeated 1-0 in the group phase, in the third-place play-off, and strikes from Thomas Meunier and Eden Hazard secured them the bronze medals.
Player to Watch
Thibaut Courtois
Belgium are blessed with a plethora of attacking talent, but the foundation of the team is ageing and Martinez's side will be reliant on the performances of the best goalkeeper in the world, who has 48 clean sheets in 96 caps.
2022 has been a successful year for the 30-year-old. He was awarded the 2022 Yashin Trophy and voted 8th for the Ballon d'or after winning LaLiga, the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Super Cup with Real Madrid, while producing arguably the greatest Champions League goalkeeping performance in history against Liverpool in Paris.
Courtois is a formidable presence in the area and will be difficult to score against, even for the best of players participating in this year's competition. He was awarded the Golden Glove in 2018 and will be keen on adding to his personal accolades as well as helping his nation to World Cup glory.
Expected Lineup
Courtois; Debast, Alderweireld, Vertonghen; Meunier, Tielemans, Witsel, Castagne; De Bruyne, Batshuayi, Hazard.
It is expected that Martínez will continue with a 3-4-3 formation with the backline comprising of veterans Alderweireld and Vertonghen, but it remains to be seen who will complete the set.
19-year-old Zeno Debast was entrusted with the role in their last two nations league fixtures, Leander Dendoncker played the previous four, while Wout Faes enters the tournament on the back of strong performances with Leicester City.
The four is set in stone with Timothy Castagne and Thomas Meunier operating as the wing-backs with Youri Tielemans and Axel Witsel in the middle. The duo will be accompanied by de Bruyne and Hazard further up the pitch.
Centre-forward is up for grabs with Lukaku's fitness still to be determined, so Martínez will have to decide between RC Lens' Loïs Openda, who has 7 goals in 15 Ligue 1 appearances this campaign, and a revitalised Michy Batshuayi.
Biggest Talking Point
Roberto Martínez's 26-man squad consists of 16 players that were called up to his previous squad in Russia, nine of which have featured in the past two competitions, plus the addition of exciting prospects such as Jérémy Doku, Charles De Ketelaere and Amadou Onana.
One of those that is set to feature in his third World Cup is Romelu Lukaku but his inclusion has been a cause for discussion as he is currently not fit enough to train with the squad.
Belgian's all-time top goal scorer with 68 has amounted just five appearances and two goals since re-joining Inter Milan on loan from Chelsea this summer due to injury, and has played just 26 minutes since August.
The decision behind his inclusion is unclear and it remains to be seen what sort of role he plays in Qatar.
VAVEL Predicts: Quarter-finals
On paper it is expected that Belgium will top Group F, but upon winning the group the team will have a potentially very difficult path to the final.
Awaiting in the Round of 16 would be the runners-up of Group C, which will either be Germany or Spain unless for a huge upset. Beyond that a strong Portugal side could be the opponents in the quarter-finals, which I predict will be the stumbling block. However, should they progress to the final four, Martínez's side will be required to enact revenge for their exit in 2018 as they'd potentially face reigning champions France.
Whatever may happen, Belgium are strong contenders to get their hands on the Jules Rimet Trophy this winter.