'We’re not a golden generation', says Thibaut Courtois after Belgium crash out of the World Cup

Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has criticised the national team following a tame exit from the group stage of the ongoing FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Terming the performances of the Red Devils in the last two major tournaments as 'embarrasing',Courtois refused to label the Belgium team as the'golden generation'.

“It’s hard to call yourself ‘Golden Generation’ when you don’t win anything.We’re not a golden generation, we’re a generation with lots of talent and great players from across Europe,"Courtois was quoted as saying byDiairo AS.

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“We showed in Russia, we are a Belgium that plays good football. In this World Cup and Euro 2020 we were not ourselves, it’s embarrassing," added the Real Madrid keeper.

WATCH |Belgium knocked out of FIFA World Cup group stage

A spirited Moroccan team outplayed Belgium and its supposed 'golden generation' to send them out of the tournament. The 2018 WC semifinalists were shocked aftersubstitute Abdelhamid Sabiri curled a whipping free kick towards Courtois, who unfortunately could not move across the box in time.

As Belgium sought an equaliser in the dying stages of the game, Morocco's talisman Hakim Ziyech measured an inch-perfect pass toZakaria Aboukhlal who rifled the ball to the top of the net, completing the demolition job.

Read more:Riots ensue in Belgian and Dutch cities after Morocco's surprise win at the World Cup

Throughout Belgium's World Cup campaign, rumours of rifts and fights among the teammates made the news headlines more than the performance on the field. Belgium's captain Kevin de Bruyne further deflated the team's morale by claiming in an interview that there was no chance that Belgium could win the World Cup.

“No chance, we’re too old. I think our chance was 2018. We have a good team, but it is ageing. We lost some key players. We have some good new players coming, but they are not at the level other players were in 2018. I see us more as outsiders," said de Bruyne.

(With inputs from agencies)

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