By deceiving Mike Maignan just before the break in the Red Devils’ 1-2 defeat against France, Loïs Openda ended a 23-month drought in the national team. The striker had not found the net since a friendly match against Egypt on November 18, 2022.
Openda was the most visible Belgian player on the pitch at the King Baudouin stadium on Monday evening. The number 9 notably scored the equalizing goal and caused a penalty, missed by Youri Tielemans at 0-0. He could have been the hero of the evening without a save from Maignan in the last seconds of the match.
“I was waiting for a match like this after a moment without a goal and average performances”, confided Openda in the spans of Heysel. “I was happy to have scored but there wasn’t a weight lifted off my shoulders. I never doubted, I had the confidence of the coach. I just needed time before putting the ball in the ground.”
The Leipzig player also said that it “did him good” to be better surrounded in the offensive zone. “I was waiting to have someone behind me as was the case with Charles De Ketelaere and Leandro Trossard. I was able to receive deep balls, that’s my strength and I showed that I could help the ‘team.”
Openda hopes the Devils can build on the two performances against Italy and France ahead of the final two group games against Italy and Israel. “Second place is still accessible. We will have to try to reproduce our performance today (Monday, editor’s note) or even do better against Italy then take the three points against Israel”, concluded the scorer of the day.
