However, Vermant said the path to the first team is challenging for the young players, since it's not possible for all the boys at the youth teams of Club Brugge to secure a position in the first team.

"Maybe one or two or three boys will get the chance ... you don't know, it's like a pyramid [where] you start with the broad base and it goes up ... but there are not a lot [who can manage] to achieve this - some go to other clubs and some go to study more when they see that they don't get the chance in a higher level," he said, adding that it's his job to get the best out of everyone and integrate them into a competitive whole.

A midfielder in the Belgian national squad during the 2002 FIFA World Cup where the "Red Devils" were defeated by Brazil in the round of 16, Vermant said the Belgian team was made to rethink about what went wrong in the 12-year period since 2002, during which they were absent from two World Cups - one hosted by Germany in 2006 and the other by South Africa in 2010.

"It made Belgium to rethink about a new structure and maybe develop even better players. And I think if you look at the squad at this moment, we have players who play in the top clubs," he said, reflecting on the ups and downs the national team had gone through the past decade and a half.

Belgium had played in five consecutive World Cups between 1986 and 2002, a period in which Vermant said they were very successful. The national team ranks 10 in the latest FIFA men's ranking, which to Vermant is the highest Belgium has had in recent memories. "Not in total, but close to now," he explained.

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