Midfielder Kevin De Bruyne regretted missing a scoring opportunity that caused Belgium to lose 0-1 to France in the round of 16 of Euro 2024 at Merkur Spiel Stadium (Germany) on the evening of July 1.

Speaking at a press conference after the match, Kevin De Bruyne sadly said: “We didn’t have enough time to react after conceding the goal. I had a chance at the end of the match but couldn’t score. It’s a pity, but that’s football.”

Belgium and France maintained a suffocating game throughout the 90 minutes. It seemed like the two teams were about to enter extra time, but in the last minute of stoppage time, substitute Kolo Muani took a shot from inside the box that deflected off Jan Vertonghen’s foot and into the net, helping France win 1-0.

Belgium controlled 44% of the ball but only had two shots on target. Meanwhile, France had 19 shots and 5 on target. The “Red Devils of Europe” could not overwhelm their opponents like in the group stage, when France had many excellent midfielders such as Griezmann, Rabiot and Kante.

When asked if the loss to France was the end of Belgium’s golden generation of football , De Bruyne angrily replied to reporters: “What is a golden generation, mine? You mean France, England, Spain or Germany don’t have a golden generation.”

Then, the Man City star also blurted out “stupid” in response to the journalist’s harsh question.

The golden generation of Belgian football, in addition to De Bruyne, also includes Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku, Eden Hazard, Jan Vertonghen, Yannick Carrasco, Cortoius… who have fought together since the 2014 World Cup until now.

The best achievement of this generation of players was third place at the 2018 World Cup. Belgium stopped at the quarter-finals of the 2014 World Cup, Euro 2016, Euro 2020, and the group stage of the 2022 World Cup. Bruyne is one of the remaining faces of the golden generation of Belgian football and was eliminated in the round of 16 of Euro 2024.