Belgium’s main talisman, Eden Hazard bid adieu to international football on December 7, following his country’s disappointing group stage exit at the World Cup. Hazard, considered as one of the best players of his generation, has played in three World Cup tournaments from 2014 to 2022. Let us take a look at some of his proud moments with Belgium. 

Incredible Achievement 

 It is not often that we see players named in the FIFA FIFPro World X1. More often than not, legends like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are familiar faces when it comes to being included in the World X1. But Belgian captain, Eden Hazard, defied all odds and made the cut for the world’s best X1 for two years consecutively, in 2018 and 2019 respectively.

A Stunning Comeback

Belgium, captained by Hazard, made a stunning comeback against Japan 4 years ago on 2 July 2018 during their round-of-16 meeting. Despite not getting his name onto the scorecard, Hazard was instrumental in overturning a 2-0 goal deficit against the Asians, winning 3-2. In the process, the European team became the first team in half a century to recover from a 2-0 deficit in a World Cup knockout stage. 

 A Well-Deserved Record

4 days later, on 6 July, Belgium outsmarted 5-time champs Brazil with a 2-1 victory that saw the Belgian number 10 setting a marvelous record for most successful dribbles completed in a World Cup since 1966. He proved why he is one of the best in the world by completing 10 dribbles out of the 10 he attempted. 

Solo Goal Against Hungary

During the round-of-16 match between Belgium and Hungary at the Euro 2016, there was a loud roar around the Stadium de Toulouse as Belgium’s evergreen captain scored an emphatic solo goal to help his country clinch a superb 4-0 victory against the Hungarians. The captain’s goal came in the 79th minute. That was the moment when the 31-year-old showed the world why he was appointed Belgium’s captain.

Second Highest Goal Scorer For Belgium

Not only is he a fine playmaker, but Hazard is also an amazing marksman too, scoring 33 goals for his country, making him the Red Devil’s second-highest goal scorer, after Romelu Lukaku. He has also managed 126 caps for his dear country. The 31-year-old made his international debut in 2008.

    Individual Brilliance 

Even though Hazard could not experience World Cup glory, he led his team to a brilliant third-place finish at the Russian World Cup four years ago. His three goals, two assists and three man-of-the-match awards earned him the silver ball for the 2018 quadrennial tournament. 

Despite Eden Hazard not being as good as Messi or Ronaldo, his name is up there on the list of best players in football. The world will definitely miss seeing Eden Hazard donning the Belgium jersey.

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