In the 5th 1/8 final matchup of the European Championship that ended on July 2, Beijing time, the Belgian men's football team, ranked No. 3 in the world, was unfortunately killed by France because of an own goal and stopped in the round of 16. With Belgium out, the 33-year-old De Bruyne also said goodbye to the European Championship.
When the final whistle blew, De Bruyne crossed his hands on his hips, stunned, he stood in the middle of the field, looked around and lowered his head sadly to wipe his sweat with his jersey, his eyes were full of regret and reluctance to unfulfilled ambition, but he had to accept the cruel fact that his national team won 0 championships.
Despite being 33 years old, Kevin De Bruyne is still Belgium's best performer at this tournament. As captain, he played all four games and created plenty of opportunities for his team-mates, including Kevin De Bruyne's game-winning goal against Romania and Romania and Ukraine.
Unfortunately, the strength of this Belgian team is no longer comparable to that of the "golden generation" at its peak, and just like Modric, De Bruyne alone cannot change too much about the aging squad.
Previously, De Bruyne hinted in an interview that this European Championship may be the last major tournament he will participate in for Belgium, and he will try to do a good job of "passing on the help". Unfortunately, De Bruyne may not have time to wait for the likes of Doku, Opponda and De Ketelaere to mature.
Since making his international debut in August 2010, De Bruyne has played in three World Cups and three European Championships, with his best result being a third-place finish and no major titles. This is indeed a big regret for De Bruyne, who has been praised as the "world's No. 1 midfielder".