Belgium presents itself during this Euro with a profoundly renewed squad.
Courtois, Hazard, Alderweireld… Several executives present during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar are absent from Domenico Tedesco’s list.
What is this new generation of Red Devils worth?
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Euro 2024
One of the best goalkeepers in the world… not selected with his country. To compete in Euro 2024, which begins on Monday against Slovakia (6 p.m.), Belgium will do without its historic goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois. The official version ? Poor form after her long knee injury, which kept her from the field for several months. But the player finally participated in the entire Champions League final won by his club, Real Madrid, against Dortmund on June 1 (2-0). The tensions born from the episode of “cuff-gate”, a year ago, therefore also seem to have played a role in this distancing from the Belgian selection.
In June 2023, the goalkeeper suddenly left the Red Devils group after being offended by not having been appointed captain during a match, which would have represented his 100th selection for the national team. Annoyed all season, Thibaut Courtois therefore does not appear in the group of 25 players called by coach Domenico Tesdesco, who arrived at his post after the Belgian debacle (elimination in groups) during the 2022 World Cup. In the image of the latter, several historic executives were not selected: Eden Hazard retired, Toby Alderweireld withdrew from the selection, Dries Mertens did not reappear in the national jersey for almost two years, Michy Batshuayi n was not retained…
A young defense in the face of absences
For this new competition, Belgium will therefore rely on a young group, supported by a few veterans still there (De Bruyne, Vertonghen, Witsel, Carrasco, Lukaku…). Even more so since in recent days, uncertainty reigns over the presence or not of a certain number of players due to injuries in defense of Arthur Theate or the ex-Parisian Thomas Meunier, for example. “This is the opportunity for some players to step up, show themselves and prove that they deserve to be there, reacted on this subject the full-back Timothy Castagne, 28 years old, at a press conference on Saturday. We know that we have a lot of quality up front. It must follow behind.“
The Belgian “golden generation”, which notably reached a World Cup semi-final in 2018, has long slowed down the emergence of new young players behind the regulars of the selection. This year, the Belgian rearguard will count on a few nuggets to advance in the European tournament. Zeno Debast, revelation of the Jupiler League in recent years with Anderlecht, will have the opportunity to show himself in central defense to compensate for the numerous absences. Departing for Sporting Portugal, the 19-year-old could be associated with ex-Rémois Wout Faes, who is also quite used to playing a replacement role in the selection.
Ammunition in attack
Too tender, the Belgian squad? Domenico Tedesco claims to have found a “good balance“between experience and freshness to offer a competitive game at the Euro. Symbol of this strategy: the young Arthur Vermeeren, 19 years old, who plays for Atlético de Madrid, represents the future. Capable of cutting the lines thanks to his sharp passes and with a good projection capacity, the defensive midfielder can do good on his few entries.
In attack, the Belgian selection observes the change in dimension of Jérémy Doku, 22 years old and transferred from Rennes to Manchester City last summer. For his part, he brings a percussion rarely found by the Red Devils in recent years. Winger Johan Bakayoko, 12 goals in the Dutch Eredivisie this season, can also have his say.
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Far from the bad atmosphere that plagued the trip to Qatar in 2022, the Belgians promise to have found cohesion despite the mix of these different generations. “We spend a lot of time as a team, explained Yannick Carrasco a few days ago. We play cards, board games, PlayStation or ping-pong. We also plan to watch a lot of matches together. Not to analyze possible future opponents – the staff is more competent for that – but for pleasure, to be together.“In a Group E within its reach (Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania), Belgium is once again aiming for the final four.
