Kevin De Bruyne

De Bruyne joined Napoli in the summer of 2025 after a decade at Manchester City, and recovered from a muscle tear that sidelined him from November 2025 to February 2026 to reach the World Cup fit, having managed 5 goals and 2 assists in 18 Serie A appearances that season.

At 34, this represented his last realistic World Cup, part of what pundits called Belgium's 'Golden Generation' — alongside Thibaut Courtois and Romelu Lukaku — reaching the end of a run of major tournaments without a title to show for their individual quality.

Operating as the number 10 in Belgium's 4-2-3-1, De Bruyne's game is built around passing range and vision rather than dribbling — he sees and executes passes into space other players do not attempt, often before the space has fully opened.

De Bruyne's assist for Charles De Ketelaere's equalizer against Spain in the 2026 World Cup quarterfinal — an intuitive pass that freed Timothy Castagne to cross for the header — was not enough to prevent a 2-1 defeat, as Mikel Merino scored a late winner for Spain.

The exit was described by multiple outlets as the likely end of the international road for Belgium's Golden Generation, with De Bruyne, Courtois and Lukaku all facing the same question of whether they would feature at another tournament.