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Lukaku details what went wrong following Belgium’s World Cup exit

Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku has admitted that Belgium did not reach their full potential in the ongoing FIFA World Cup, where they failed to go beyond the group phase.

Dubbed the Golden Generation of Belgium, the number two ranked team put up lacklustre performances in the three group matches.

They ended the group phase campaign in the third position with four points on their tally.

Morocco and Croatia qualified for the last 16, while Belgium and lowly Canada were bundled out of the tournament.

LUKAKU LEFT IN TEARS

Lukaku was left in tears after the 0-0 draw with Croatia, which all but condemned them to third position in the group.

And the former Chelsea centre-forward turned out to be the fall guy after he spurned a number of chances that could have helped lift the Belgians.

“When you come to the [FIFA] World Cup, you have to play three games, and we only played one.

“The first two games, we were fearful, we were not the team that we are, we listened to the noise on the outside, and we were feeling the responsibility.

Thierry Henry consoling Alderweireld
Thierry Henry consoling Alderweireld

“We played thinking that we could lose the game and that we could be out, and that’s what cost us progress.

“If we had gone through, I think we would have seen the real Belgium, and we could have been very competitive,” Lukaku said.

Despite having some of the best players in the world, among them Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bryune, the Red Devils failed to step up to the plate.

LAST WORLD CUP

They beat Canada 1-0, and lost 2-1 to group winners Morocco before the goalless draw with Croatia.

Undoubtedly, this could be the last World Cup for some of their ageing players that include the likes of Toby Alderweireld [33] Jan Vertonghen [35] and Eden Hazard [31].

This could also be the end of the road for coach Roberto Martinez and his assistant Thierry Henry.

RELATED STORY: How Belgium’s Mechelen plan to integrate Zimbabwean signing Bill Antonio

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