VANCOUVER — They called them old. They called them finished. They said the golden generation had tarnished beyond repair. Two draws, zero goals from their own players, and a growing sense that Belgium’s time at the top of world football had passed.

Then they took 35 shots in 90 minutes and scored five goals. The old guard, it turns out, still has a few things to say.

Leandro Trossard is 31 years old. In football years, that makes him a veteran. In Vancouver, he played like a man half his age. His first goal was a poacher’s finish — the kind of goal that doesn’t make highlight reels but wins football matches. A corner, a scramble, a toe-poke past the goalkeeper. 1-0. Belgium could breathe.

His second was a work of art. Hans Vanaken’s cross floated into the box, and Trossard took it on his chest, swivelled in one motion, and volleyed into the net. The technique required to execute that — chest control, body rotation, clean contact — is something you either have or you don’t. Trossard has it.

Kevin De Bruyne is 34. His hair is greying at the temples. His legs have carried him through more than 600 professional matches. But when he received the ball on the edge of the box in the 66th minute, none of that mattered. One touch to set himself. One touch to strike. The ball fizzed across the turf and into the bottom corner. De Bruyne’s first goal of the tournament. Belgium’s first goal scored by a Belgian at this World Cup. The symbolism was almost too perfect.

New Zealand scored a goal that deserved a better context. Elijah Just’s volley in the 84th minute was superb — the kind of strike that would have been the headline on any other night. It briefly pushed Belgium out of the top spot in Group G, and for about 60 seconds, the All Whites had thrown the group into chaos.

Romelu Lukaku needed 64 of those seconds to restore order. On as a substitute, first touch of the game, header into the net. 4-1. Lukaku has been questioned, doubted, and written off more times than he can count. But give him a cross in the box and he will still punish you. That hasn’t changed. It probably never will.

Alexis Saelemaekers added a fifth in stoppage time. Belgium had their win, their goals, and their group. The obituaries can wait.

The Old Guard Strikes Back: Belgium’s 35-Shot Statement in Vancouver

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