The 2014 World Cup in Brazil will be remembered by Belgium fans as the tournament that sparked their golden generation.
Narrowly beaten by eventual finalists Argentina in the quarter-final, Marc Wilmots' men won all three of their group-stage matches and beat the USA in the last 16 to assert themselves as one of the international game's most talked about teams. Belgium's youthful side included a host of talented players who'd go on to become some of the best world football had to offer in the coming years.
Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Thibaut Courtois - but to name a few - were all involved alongside the more established Vincent Kompany and former Manchester United sensation Adnan Januzaj. However, it wasn't just the Red Devils' silky football which garnered attention from fans, but the look of their own supporters; and one, in particular, Axelle Despiegelaere.
Just like the young guns, she was cheering on in Brazil, then 17-year-old Despiegelaere shot to stardom thanks to the tournament. An image of her clad in Belgian paraphernalia went viral, as for her nation's 1-0 win against Russia in their second group fixture, she donned a devil-horn hat dashed with Belgium's fiery red, yellow and black colours, and had a pair of pom poms in her hands.
Photographers at the iconic Maracana Stadium couldn't get enough of snapping Axelle, and it felt like every pair of eyes in Rio De Janeiro had had a glance at her - as well as that internet. As she and her two friends celebrated the victory which saw Belgium through to the knockout stages, all of that traction was noticed by the world's largest cosmetics company, L'Oreal.
Like how De Bruyne would soon be handed an eye-watering deal by Manchester City one year later, Despiegelaere was handed a deal from the beauty conglomerate based purely on her iconic look at the World Cup. She appeared in L'Oreal's social media campaign promoting various products, backed by more than 200,000 followers on a newly-founded Facebook page.
But her fame would turn to infamy almost as soon as it arrived. As Belgium made it through to the round of 16, where they'd face an exciting USA side who'd managed to escape the group of death, Axelle uploaded an image of herself holding a gun and cheerfully posing next to what appeared to be a dead oryx.
Her caption read: "Hunting is not a matter of life or death. It's much more important than that.. This was about one year ago... Ready to hunt Americans today haha." A wave of backlash ensued, forcing her to pour cold water over the post - but it didn't put out the fire. "I didn't mean to offend anyone... It was a joke," she wrote.
L'Oreal was alerted and promptly cut ties, although they didn't confirm that their quick decision was because of the grim snap. "L'Oreal Professionnel Belgium collaborated with her on an ad hoc basis to produce a video for social media use in Belgium," a spokesperson told the Independent. "The contract has now been completed."
Despiegelaere's fame on the world stage was indeed complete, but back home she still garnered acclaim. As a Club Brugge fan, the club brought her out onto the pitch ahead of their first home match of the 2014-15 Belgian top-flight season.
So what's she up to now? Eight-and-a-half years on from her rapid rise and controversial fall, Axelle boasts a cool 25.6k followers on Instagram. She's also married to partner Emile Steyart, having tied the knot in September.
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Based in Gent, Despiegelaere works as an event planner for Presence, organising weddings and other glamour occasions. Her football fandom hasn't disappeared, though, as she could be seen backing Belgium during their Euro 2020 quarter-final clash with Italy last summer - before they were narrowly beaten by the tournament's winners in-waiting.
With the Red Devils already eliminated from this year's World Cup after a nightmare campaign in Qatar - leading to manager Roberto Martinez's immediate departure - she'll have to wait until the 2024 European Championships in Germany if she fancies making her mark at a major tournament once more.
