Kevin De Bruyne, Leandro Trossard, Thibaut Courtois, Roméo Lavia and many others: the list of absentees for the Red Devils unfortunately looks impressive. However, a number of prominent international players still did not receive an invitation from Domenico Tedesco. A bad sign that they may gradually put their European Championship ambitions aside?
After the hangover in Qatar, Roberto Martinez’s successor, who clung to the Golden Generation for too long, had to go through the outdated selection with a broad brush. Toby Alderweireld, Eden Hazard and Simon Mignolet helped him by keeping the honor to himself. An example that Axel Witsel and Nacer Chadli, for whom the message was quickly clear, followed afterwards.
Cordater and Martinez
The end of an era: Dries Mertens has yet to officially announce his retirement, but of the veterans, only Jan Vertonghen remains. Together with Romelu Lukaku, Yannick Carrasco, Michy Batshuayi, goalkeepers Mats Sels and Thomas Kaminski and normally also De Bruyne and Courtois, the record international is the only thirty-something who is part of Tedesco’s core team.
Although he is still looking for worthy replacements for the retired tenors in some positions, a difficult job in which the German occasionally even dares to pull a white rabbit out of his hat, his group is gradually taking shape. For his four international matches so far, Tedesco has called up ‘only’ 33 players in total, with Mandela Keita, Arthur Vermeeren and Zinho Vanheusden the latest additions.
The last two were purely due to injuries, which were also a factor in the previous six matches. Even without other circumstances, such as Charles De Ketelaere and Zeno Debast’s participation in the U21 European Championship, the counter was even lower. And that during a renewal process. A stark contrast to Martinez, who only made decisions before a tournament. Then Tedesco will proceed more decisively with its tailor-made selections.
Bad luck for Praet
Five of the 30 players he selected prior to this diptych never played. In addition to goalkeepers Kaminski and Arnaud Bodat, this concerns Hans Vanaken, Dennis Praet and Thomas Meunier, all of whom are no longer there. The last two are currently in the infirmary, but Tedesco already ignored them at the previous two meetings. However, he appreciates their professional mentality.
Thanks to the scarcity at the right back, Meunier still has a chance. Unlike his former teammate Olivier Deman on the other side, Hugo Siquet apparently made little impression on the national coach, who this time simply does it without backup for Timothy Castagne. The other alternatives are therefore limited. For example, Alexis Saelemaekers is still on his way back after an injury.
Moreover, he is a more offensive type, and after the failed experiment as a left back against Germany, he is also not in the top drawer. Tedesco is probably secretly crossing his fingers that Meunier will soon be able to play for Borussia Dortmund. Unfortunately for Praet, the wealth in midfield remains much greater. Vanaken is thus passed for the second time in a row, even without De Bruyne and Trossard.
Young violence in midfield
Tedesco is now betting on Carrasco, De Ketelaere or, despite his dip in form, even Youri Tielemans to take over their role as playmaker. However, Vanaken got off to a great start, and no one in the current core has a comparable profile. It is also useful as a weapon in the air. Is the 31-year-old captain of Club Brugge a victim of the intended rejuvenation in the dressing room?
Mike Trésor, who, like Vanaken, was still present in June when De Bruyne and Trossard also both failed to appear, is also not counted on now. Partly due to an injury that kept him sidelined a month ago, the then debutant found his transfer to Burnley rather difficult. Not illogical, although given the many cancellations it may also be a sign of the future for him.
In the pecking order, the young foals from Antwerp appear to be already ahead of them, just like Aster Vranckx, who will remain with the Young Devils this time. And then Lavia is still in the rag. He is one of five players who has only made one appearance under Tedesco. Deman and Debast remain regulars in the selection, Siquet has just been dropped. However, Sebastiaan Bornauw and Leander Dendoncker are in trouble.
Holiday plans
Ameen Al-Dakhil dropped out of their central back position, but the national coach chose Vanheusden as a replacement. After initially being preferred to Al-Dakhil, Bornauw, who ended up on the bench in Wolfsburg, takes another step back. This actually became apparent in June, when he and Dendoncker were allowed to fill in for the absent duo of Vertonghen and Debast.
The former did not make a good turn against Austria, after which, to make matters worse, he dropped out for the move to Estonia. Instead of giving Bornauw his chance, Vertonghen was quickly patched up. Unlike Dendoncker, he has probably not yet completely disappeared from the radar. Tedesco says it continuously monitors around 35 candidate internationals.
The list is already more or less full, with Maxim De Cuyper and Hugo Cuypers also included. Although it is increasingly looking like Vanaken, Praet, Dendoncker and possibly even Bornauw and Meunier have been permanently dropped. At least for the time being, because sometimes things can go quickly. Just ask Vermeeren, who, according to Tedesco, will not easily give up his place in the selection now that he has ‘finally’ conquered them.
As soon as everyone is fit, places will only become more expensive, with young people having an advantage. Unless things go crazy and he plays like a charm at Anderlecht, Thorgan Hazard, for example, should no longer expect a call. Never say ‘never’, but anyone who hasn’t been there yet can carefully start making plans for next summer.
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