Roberto Martinez has decided to walk away from coaching Belgium after his side failed to reach the knockout stages of the Qatar World Cup.
The Belgian Football Association confirmed the news on its social media pages.
The 49-year-old Spaniard decided not to renew his contract with the Belgian FA which came to an end at the conclusion of his side’s World Cup campaign.
“Yes, that was my last game with the national team,” the former Everton boss said. “This is emotional, as you can imagine. I can’t carry on (answering), sorry.” Martinez said in an interview.
“We’ve been able to build a real legacy, and I know a lot of people say you can only build legacy by winning a major tournament, but I see it in a different way. I’m so proud of these players.”
Belgium finished third in their Group F, behind winners Morocco and second-placed Croatia, beating only Canada 1-0 in this year’s campaign.
Their disappointment perfectly mirrors how Belgium has looked under Roberto Martinez after the former Everton manager was handed the reins back in 2016.
Despite becoming one of the best teams in the world, holding FIFA’s no1 ranking for three straight years, Belgium failed to win major honours with their “golden generation”. The likes of Kevin de Bruyne, Eden Hazard, Thibaut Courtois, Dries Mertens, Romelu Lukaku, Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen have all done well for themselves at the club level but failed to replicate the same for their country.
Belgium’s best finish under Martinez was third place at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, but with him now gone, they may find it difficult to reach those heights soon again.
