“We used to complain that the Dutch painted their houses and partied too much and thought every time they were going to win the World Cup,” Jeffery Goeman, 42, a Belgium fan and construction company owner from Ghent, said with a laugh. “Now we are just as bad. The Dutch come over to see how we paint our houses.”
As the World Cup began, Belgium seemed to be everybody’s dark-horse team. Still, this business of being a soccer power has required a little getting used to. On Sunday, after Belgium defeated Russia, 1-0, Queen Mathilde was confused about which forward had scored the winning goal.
Unfortunately for the queen, Reuters reported, the moment was captured by the Dutch-language broadcaster VRT. As King Philippe and Queen Mathilde met Belgium’s players at a reception, she told striker Romelu Lukaku: “Bravo, really. And it’s for you, the goal, too.”
This was all fine and well, except that Lukaku had been replaced less than an hour into a scoreless match. And he was not happy about it, refusing to shake the hand of Coach Marc Wilmots and kicking a water bottle.
“No, he’s over there,” Lukaku told the queen, pointing to his replacement, Divock Origi, who had in fact kicked the ball instead of a water bottle and even put it into the net.
“Well, in any case, you played well,” Queen Mathilde told Lukaku, recovering quickly from her royal yellow card.
Later, the queen apologized and explained to reporters that she grew confused because Lukaku used to have dreadlocks.
“He surprised me by having cut his hair,” the queen said, according to De Standaard, a Belgium daily newspaper.
This could lead to further awkwardness in the royal receiving line, given that midfielder Marouane Fellaini has promised to shave his luxuriant and wig-inspiring Afro if Belgium wins the World Cup.
But that is for another day. Belgium is facing criticism for a turgid attack and late, narrow victories over Algeria, Russia and South Korea in group play. This may not be the best way to win friends and influence fans who accessorize with devil’s horns and pitchforks.
On Thursday, against South Korea, Belgium played the second half a man down after a red-card suspension given to midfielder Steven Defour. The match went without a goal until the 78th minute, when a low blast by Origi, 19, whose father once played for the Kenyan national team, could not be handled. Defender Jan Vertonghen scored off the rebound to provide the 1-0 win.
Even many Belgian fans knew little about the emergent Origi, who plays for Lille in the French league and came to Brazil only after Christian Benteke ruptured his Achilles’ tendon in April.
“Now all of a sudden everybody says he’s got to play,” said Wilmots, who can be lancing with the verbal thrust. “I’m not blind, you know. He’s 19 years old. He played 20 matches in Lille. We’ve also got to save him. His body is not entirely ready, I think. I will use him when I need to use him. When it is time.”
Even though Belgium lacerated the United States, 4-2, in an exhibition last year, fans of Les Diables Rouges seem both excited about facing the Americans and somewhat nervous about the burden of expectation. Belgium is making its first World Cup appearance since 2002.
“We won against them last year, so the supporters think we’re going to win again,” said Goeman, the construction company owner, who once lived in San Francisco. “But the U.S. is very well organized. Plus we’re the favorites. Better to be the underdog.”
Yet Belgium was undefeated during World Cup qualifying and is loaded with big-time players from some of Europe’s biggest clubs. The rangy goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois, reached the Champions League final with Atlético Madrid. Defender Vincent Kompany is the captain at Manchester City. Defender Thomas Vermaelen plays at Arsenal. And Fellaini, with his hairstyle, is the Questlove of Manchester United.
Midfielder Eden Hazard plays at Chelsea, although if soccer doesn’t work out, his trim beard suggests he might have a second career as the leprechaun at Notre Dame.
“I haven’t been satisfied with our level,” Hazard said after the victory over Russia. “Especially with the squad that we have, we can do better.”
Many believe Belgium will pose a bigger threat at the 2016 European championship than at the 2014 World Cup. Only defender Daniel van Buyten has played in a previous World Cup. Wilmots has played in four — three more than all his players combined.
But the coach has wearied of complaints that his team is not playing attractively. It is more important, he said, to be rested and energized than enchanting.
“We are here with the best teams on earth,” Wilmots said. “You pay cash for any mistakes. I don’t know who plays beautifully. We’re not here to look at people and their performances. We’re here to win. We don’t have just 11 players; we have 23 good players. We can be very nasty and surprise teams.”
Belgium was ready to reach the quarterfinals, Wilmots said.
“The rest is literature for me,” he said.
And house painting.
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