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The Red Devils cross swords with England on Tuesday evening. Both countries also faced each other during the successful 2018 World Cup. Then the Belgians always came out on top, thanks to one Adnan Januzaj.
During that tournament in Russia, the Devils won the consolation final 2-0 against the English after goals from Eden Hazard and Thomas Meunier. However, both countries also faced each other in the group stage in a match that no one really wanted to win. After all, the loser would finish second in the group and thus end up in a more attractive half of the table.
Thankless hero role
But that was not included in Januzaj. The wing attacker was brought in, like many other substitutes, in the group match against England. And at the start of the second half he opened the scoring with a great goal, which, unsurprisingly, also turned out to be the winning goal.
The rest of the tournament is history and who knows what would have happened if Belgium had finished second in its group. For Januzaj, however, the goal became one of his final highlights so far. In recent years, his career has gone into decline.
Sidetracked in Seville
At the time of his World Cup goal, the youth product of RSC Anderlecht was playing for Real Sociedad. But he got fewer and fewer minutes there. He eventually moved to Sevilla FC on a transfer-free basis in the summer of 2022. However, that turned out to be a bad choice.
Januzaj barely featured in Andalusia and a loan to Basaksehir was only a stopgap. During the current season he did not get further than eight short substitute appearances in La Liga on behalf of Sevilla. The general expectation is that he will leave next summer for a limited sum.
Purple-white comeback
What his destination will be is watching coffee grounds for the time being. In January there was already speculation about a possible return to Anderlecht. Not entirely illogical given that Sports CEO Jesper Fredberg has good contacts at Seville. But for the time being, such a comeback does not seem to be on the cards, not least because of his hefty salary. “A return to the Purple & White, that seems like a delusion for the time being,” they are clear The newspapaer.
