Not all of the Red Devils will be available for this Wednesday’s friendly match against Montenegro, and some will even remain uncertain until Euro 2024.
The 11 which will begin this Wednesday against Montenegro is likely not to be the one that Domenico Tedesco will go down on paper on June 17, for Belgium’s first match against Slovakia. Several players were missing from training, some will be rested, and others could even be doubtful until the start of the competition.
“The injured are progressing well in their revalidation, even very well for some. I am optimistic that everyone will be there at Euro 2024. But we have until June 7 to submit the final selection and we will take everything the time allocated to us”, begins Tedesco at a press conference.
Theate, Vertonghen, Vranckx and Tielemans absent
“It will be important to control the workload this week, because we have had intense sessions over the last 4-5 days,” continues the coach. “We won’t really be able to put an intense workload in Germany, so it was important to do it when the players arrived. We also had to rework the basics of our system with some who were absent.”
Tedesco has then already confirmed a few packages for this first friendly match: those of Jan Vertonghen, Arthur Theate, Youri Tielemans and Aster Vranckx. “Vranckx is the only one of these who could potentially play, but we won’t take any risks with him,” he said.
Even if they were to miss the two friendly matches, everyone will be happy with the trip to Germany, barring anything unforeseen this week. “Jan is very important for us off the field as well. Arthur Theate’s position is very sensitive, and therefore it is crucial for us too. We don’t yet know exactly who will be ready to face Slovakia,” admits Domenico Tedesco.
Change between Montenegro and Luxembourg
“Some of them might only be ready for the second or third game. But whatever happens, they’ll go with us. Of course, if it turns out that one of them won’t be able to play until ‘In the final we will have to make a decision, but that is not the case at the moment.’
This also means that there will be changes between the two friendly matches. “I’m not going to say that there will be two completely different teams. But we have to distribute the workload, because the gap between the two matches is small. Those who play 90 minutes tomorrow will probably not take part in the second match “, concludes the federal coach.
