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National football team: DFB international match: The last chance for Belgium footballers

Coach Domenico Tedesco (from left) should make Belgium better.

Photo: imago/Tom Goyvaerts

The Royal Belgian Football Association and the German Football Association (DFB) have been in close contact for some time. Because of the bid for the 2027 Women’s World Cup, which has now officially been launched – together with the Netherlands – top officials coordinated so often that the friendly match between the two men’s national teams this Tuesday in Cologne almost inevitably took place. The connection via the coaching benches, because Domenico Tedesco, who was still working for RB Leipzig at the beginning of the season, became the new national coach, now does the rest.

After the Spaniard Roberto Martinez, wanting to rely on a coach from abroad again did not go down well in Belgium. But the criticism of the 37-year-old fell silent when Franky Vercauteren became the new sporting director at the same time. The 66-year-old has already worked as an assistant to the icon René Vandereycken and later as an interim coach. The “Prince” was part of the formative era when the Belgians reached the semi-finals of the 1986 World Cup. A long trough followed, which had only been passed a decade ago. At the 2014 World Cup, a young gang of rascals under Marc Wilmots caused a stir for the first time – and from then on actually traveled to every tournament as the secret favourite. The term “golden generation” made the rounds almost inflationary.

“That may be true given the opportunities,” says former national goalkeeper and Bayern keeper Jean-Marie Pfaff. »But what titles did we get? None so far.” In a DFB interview, the 69-year-old does not hide the fact that he is skeptical about Tedesco’s enthronement: “Can he also lead a national team? I really hope so. Because we need a strong coach with a good hand.«

The start went quite well in the first qualifying game for the 2024 European Championships with a 3-0 win in Sweden last Friday. Romelu Lukaku’s hat-trick was initiated by Dodi Lukebakio, who plays for Hertha BSC and was only in the Belgian starting eleven for the second time. It is almost strange that Lukebakio, who has been so fluctuating in his performances in the Bundesliga, has long been considered the face of the new beginning. In the long term, the next top talents like the two 19-year-old Romeo Lavia or Johan Bakayako are more likely to be there.

Especially Tedesco can win a lot in this prestige duel with Germany. The DFB-Elf has won 20 out of 25 international matches against their smaller neighbours, who lost out in all tournament games. The defeats in the European Championship final in 1980 (1:2) with the double packer Horst Hrubesch and in the World Cup in 1994 (2:3) after a double strike by Rudi Völler hurt the most. At the World Cup in Qatar, both nations could have met again in the round of 16, but Belgium’s ensemble kicked as uninspired as Germany’s selection, followed by the end of the group with Canada, Croatia and Morocco. After that, Eden Hazard, Toby Alderweireld and substitute goalkeeper Simon Mignolet resigned from the Ü30 group, and Tedesco also voluntarily renounced the 34-year-old Axel Witsel, while Flemings and Walloons are excitedly discussing whether Kevin De Bruyne is not by chance winning an international title with Manchester City .

Tedesco has nevertheless appointed De Bruyne as captain. After all, even at the age of 31, his ability is still undisputed. In addition, the midfielder has a clear plan to become a coach later and has already acquired the Uefa A license in a special program of his association. His strategic skills are still as much in demand as the unerring instinct of Lukaku, who is still a great goalscorer on good days. The 29-year-old already has 71 international goals. Only Miroslav Klose has scored that often in Germany. At the 2018 World Cup, the multilingual jack-of-all-trades Lukaku seemed about to be crowned, with international reporters glued to his every word. But then the hopes of the Red Devils were dashed in the semifinals in St. Petersburg by the defensive discipline of eventual world champions France. Third place was well-deserved reward for the conqueror of Brazil.

The EM 2024 in Germany is now considered a worthwhile goal because the Belgians can count on thousands of supporters from their supporters. The friendly game in Cologne could provide a foretaste. Officially, the Belgian association has sold its allocated 2000 tickets, but the guests should have used plenty of the German contingent.

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