Belgium preview: Rebuild still in progress
As we move closer and closer to the IPCH European Championships 2024, Claus Vestergaard previews each team in order of the World Ranking List. In this edition, he shares his insights on the Belgian national team.
As recently as 2016, the last time the European Championships were held, Belgium was the second best team in Europe. They had made the final in both the 2012 European Championships and the 2014 World Championships, and while they managed only fourth in 2016 they were still the only team to be even remotely close to threatening the Dutch domination of the era.
And then it was all over. The majority of the team - led by superstar and then all-time international goal scoring leader, Björn Sarrazijn, retired. Ever since, the Belgians have been in the wilderness, desperately looking to replace the departing talent. It looks like 2024 will be another one of those rebuilding tournaments.
During the World Cup in 2022, the team seemed to finally turn the team over to the next generation, with newcomers Jarno Leuckx, Senne Brouwers, Maxime Decrock and Daan Van Nerum receiving a lot of playing time. While T-sticks Brouwers and Decrock performed well and have potential, everyone is keeping an eye on H-stick Van Nerum. If Belgium is ever going to return to the top part of the ranking list, they need a couple of H-sticks to turn into top players, and Van Nerum seems their best hope.
Creative, unselfish and with a decent handle, there is a lot to like about Van Nerums skillset, but he - and the rest of the team - has a long way to go. Bringing only eight players to the tournament is not a great sign of things to come.
It seems, then, that unless Van Nerum, Brouwers and Decrock make a leap and the team gets contributions from fresh faces H-stick Lien Anseele and T-stick Arjen Asselman, Belgium is destined for the 7th/8th playoff game.