Coach Tedesco turns to young players for Belgium’s Nations League matches
Romelu Lukaku and Axel Witsel are not among the Belgium squad for the upcoming Nations League fixtures against Israel and France. Lukaku, the team’s all-time top scorer, is being rested at his own request.
Coach Domenico Tedesco has called up striker Julien Duranville for the first time. The 18-year-old plays in the Bundesliga for Borussia Dortmund.
Yannick Carrasco and Leandro Trossard have also been left out, as has the injured Jan Vertonghen. Tedesco told a press conference that he wanted to give opportunities to young players, while he “knows enough about the older ones” to leave them out. However, captain Kevin De Bruyne has been selected.
Tedesco has also called up Antwerp defender Koni De Winter, Augsburg’s Arne Engels and AC Milan winger Alexis Saelemaekers as he prepares his squad for their first match since the summer’s European Championships in Germany.
The Red Devils face Israel on 6 September and travel to France three days later, in a reply of the Euro 2024 quarter-final that saw Belgium eliminated from the tournament.
Tedesco told a press conference on Friday that his team adapted their style of play too much in their defeat to France and that there was no single moment of celebration in the tournament. Belgium lost their first match against Slovakia before beating Romania and drawing 0-0 with Ukraine in the final group game.
"It was a new situation for us because in all the games before we had many reasons to be happy," he said. "But I have to say I was impressed by the team and the staff. The atmosphere we had was a positive one."
"We do this job, we play, we go to the tournament to give good moments to the country, to the fans"
He said the fans' negative reaction to the draw with Ukraine, where a victory would have given Belgium a chance of winning their group, was a key moment for him in the tournament.
"The most important thing are the fans. We do this job, we play, we go to the tournament to give good moments to the country, to the fans."
The match against Israel is a home fixture for Belgium but will be played in Hungary, as it was impossible to find a suitable venue in Belgium where security could be guaranteed.
“After the city of Brussels indicated that the home match against Israel would not take place at the King Baudouin Stadium, the RBFA wrote to several cities with a UEFA-compliant stadium,” the Belgian football association said in a statement in July. “After extensive consultation, the mayors of these cities – for security reasons – did not give their approval to host the match in their cities.”
Domenico Tedesco at a press conference to announce the selection for the Nations League games, 30 August 2024 © BELGA PHOTO BRUNO FAHY / VIDEO HEROME FETU
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