Kevin de Bruyne looked disappointed as he met his children at the Merkur Spiel Stadium after failing to help Belgium overcome France in the round of 16 of Euro 2024.

Kevin de Bruyne looked down in frustration after Belgium lost 0-1 to France. The midfielder born in 1991 could not revive a team that had passed its prime, while France had more talent, played better, and had luck in the match at the Merkur Spiel stadium.

The Belgium captain hugged France captain Kylian Mbappe – who also failed to make a big impression in this match. This is the third time De Bruyne has lost to Mbappe in a major tournament, after a 0-1 defeat in the 2018 World Cup semi-final and a 2-3 defeat in the 2021 UEFA Nations League.

As usual, Kevin de Bruyne walked to the area where his three children were sitting. He did not carry them down to the field but stood below, his hands on the railing, looking absent-minded.

In a previous interview, the 32-year-old midfielder said he often had to explain to his children the reasons for both defeat and victory. In the opening match of the group stage, Belgium lost 0-1 to Slovakia and De Bruyne had to comfort his crying children.

Defeat against France could spell the end of a golden generation of Belgian football, with those still present in Germany being Kevin de Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku (left), Yannick Carrasco and Jan Vertonghen.

Belgium’s golden generation also includes many excellent attacking stars who have retired from the national team or retired, such as strikers Eden Hazard, Dries Mertens, midfielder Marouane Fellaini, and center-back Toby Alderweireld. Meanwhile, goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois will not participate in this tournament because he spent most of the 2023-2024 season recovering from a knee ligament injury.

With this generation, Belgium has participated in the Euro finals three times in a row and reached the quarter-finals in 2016 and 2020. Before that, the team only participated in Euro 2000 in the last seven tournaments. As for the World Cup, Belgium, from being absent in 2006 and 2010, reached the quarter-finals in 2014, won a bronze medal in 2018, but stopped in the group stage in 2022.

Against France, the Belgian midfield, with De Bruyne, Carrasco, Amadou Onana, could not compete with Aurelien Tchouameni, Adrien Rabiot and Ngolo Kante. Belgium’s defensive counter-attacking style forced De Bruyne to drop deep to defend, with very little chance of even crossing the halfway line.

De Bruyne did not touch the ball once in the French box after 45 minutes in Dusseldorf. He had a free-kick that startled Mike Maignan in the first half, then a through ball in the 60th minute that opened up Carrasco’s chance to run into the box but his shot was blocked by Theo Hernandez.

Belgium had 44% possession, five shots with two on target, while their opponents had 19 shots with two on target.

Despite their lackluster counter-attacks, Belgium still had a focused defense and kept their distance well. However, the turning point came in the 85th minute. Substitute striker Randal Kolo Muani shot from inside the box, deflecting the ball off Jan Vertonghen and into the net, giving France a 1-0 win.

Goalkeeper Koen Casteels missed his chance to fly, helplessly looking back at the ball in the net. After the match, he said Belgium had shown mediocrity at Euro 2024, and the atmosphere in the dressing room after the match was filled with silence and disappointment.

Before that, Belgium also did not play well in the group stage. The team lost 0-1 to Slovakia, won 2-0 to Romania and drew 0-0 with Ukraine, thereby finishing second in the group and having to meet France in the round of 16.

Kolo Muani (left) became the hero for France against Belgium. The PSG striker is remembered for his shot that was saved by goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez at the end of extra time, when France drew 3-3 with Argentina and lost the penalty shootout of the 2018 World Cup final.

The Belgian players were down with just five minutes left in extra time. Kevin de Bruyne tried to boost his team-mates’ determination but failed.

The Man City midfielder tried to attack but the limited time left and too little possession meant he could not make a difference.

“We didn’t have enough time to react,” said Kevin de Bruyne. “I had a chance at the end but I couldn’t score. It’s a shame, but that’s football.”

Belgian fans were anxious as they watched the time tick by, then disappointed when their team was eliminated. They also faced a bleak future as Belgium failed to discover more football talents to continue the success of the period from 2014 to now.