Domenico Tedesco has decided to do without his stars De Bruyne and Lukaku for the two upcoming Nations League matches.
Belgium will face Italy (October 10 in Rome) and France (October 14 in Brussels) in the League of Nations without its stars Kevin De Bruyne, injured, and Romelu Lukaku, left to rest, indicated coach Domenico Tedesco Friday. While De Bruyne had left doubts about his desire to continue with the national team, the Manchester City playmaker (33) reassured the Italian-German coach.
“I had a long telephone exchange with Kevin, who is injured at the moment. He is very motivated by the idea of continuing with us until the World Cup. He simply asked us to skip this gathering and the next, to let his body rest,” explained Tedesco. Regarding Lukaku, he expressed his need to stay in Naples during this gathering “to work individually,” said the coach.
The team that will be aligned in ten days will therefore be experimental. Four players enter the A core: Malick Fofana (Lyon), Cyril Ngonge (Naples), Matte Smets (Genk) and goalkeeper Maarten Vandevoordt (RB Leipzig). Thomas Meunier, Julien Duranville, Artuur Vermeeren and Thomas Kaminski, called up in September during the previous day of the Nations League, are no longer present in the selection of 23 players. During the first two days of group A2, Belgium beat Israel (3-1) before losing to France (2-0).
The selection of Belgium:
Gardiens (3): Koen Casteels (Al-Qadsiah/AS), Matz Sels (Nottingham Forest/ENT), Maarten Vandevoordt (RB Leipzig/GER)
Defensemen (8): Sebastiaan Bornauw (Wolfsburg/GER), Timothy Castagne (Fulham/ENG), Zeno Debast (Sporting Portugal/POR), Maxim De Cuyper (Club Bruges), Wout Faes (Leicester/ENG), Matte Smets (Genk) ), Arthur Theate (Eintracht Francfort/GER), Koni De Winter (Genoa/ITA)
Midfielders (6): Charles De Ketelaere (Atalanta/ITA), Amadou Onana (Aston Villa/ENG), Orel Mangala (Lyon/FRA), Youri Tielemans (Aston Villa/ENG), Arne Engels (Augsburg/GER), Malick Fofana (Lyon/FRA)
Strikers (6): Johan Bakayoko (PSV/NED), Jeremy Doku (Manchester City/ENG), Dodi Lukebakio (FC Seville/ESP), Lois Openda (RB Leipzig/GER), Cyril Ngonge (Naples/ITA) and Leandro Trossard (Arsenal/ENG).
