Inter striker Romelu Lukaku could well have another chance to prove himself at the FIFA World Cup with Belgium, but time is no longer on his side.
This according to today’s print edition of Milan-based newspaper Corriere della Sera, via FCInterNews, who compare the 29-year-old’s situation to that of England and Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane.
Lukaku and Kane are both 29 years old, and both went into the World Cup in Qatar in what is, on paper, their very peaks as players.
In the Belgian’s case, fitness issues restricted him from making much of an impact as his country were dumped out of the group stage, whilst he missed several good chances in a do-or-die final group stage match against Croatia.
Meanwhile, Kane was able to lead England to a quarter-final, but it was his missed penalty against France that sealed the Three Lions’ fate as they lost 2-1 in that match.
Both of the two strikers have a very realistic chance of playing an important role for their national teams when the next World Cup rolls around in the summer of 2026.
However, in both cases, the feeling will be that there is no longer the same certainty that they will be at their best when that opportunity comes.