Eden Hazard Hopes Belgium's 'Golden Generation' Can Surpass England's in Sly Dig at Group Opponents

Belgium forward Eden Hazard has opened hostilities with the Red Devils' World Cup group stage opponents England, reminding them that their golden generation "won nothing" and hoping Belgium can do better.

Belgium have assembled an incredible array of talent, many of whom play in the Premier League, as they aim to challenge for the World Cup this summer.

England had a stellar collection of players over a decade ago, including the likes of David Beckham, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney, but never went further than the quarter finals at a major tournament.

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Hazard expressed his hope that Belgium would not choke on the big stage like England did.

“We know what we are. We are good players, we all play in the big games in England, in Italy and in Spain," said Hazard, as quoted by Sky Sports News.

“Ten years or 15 years ago, you had this golden generation in England but you won nothing.

“Now I think the fans, journalists, all of Belgium, the country just wants to win something. We have a golden generation — we just want to win something now.

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“Can we be different to England? Maybe, maybe, we will see.”

Their squad includes Hazard and his Chelsea teammate Thibaut Courtois, the Tottenham trio of Jan Vertonghen, Toby Alderweireld and Mousa Dembele, as well as Manchester City's Vincent Kompany and Manchester United's Romelu Lukaku.

Belgium and England share a World Cup group with Panama and Tunisia, and it is expected that both teams will be through the knockout stages by the time they meet in Kaliningrad on 28 June.

Belgium reached the quarter finals of the 2014 World Cup and Euro 2016, but are yet to live up to their promised potential.