At the press conference after the 3-0 win against Burkina Faso, Roberto Martinez handed out a handful of good reports. The Spaniard had praise for newcomer Siebe Van der Heyden of Union, among others.
“Of course I knew him from his club, although he surprised me this week in Tubize. International football is new to him, but he adapted very quickly,” the national coach stated.
“Siebe took his chance at a difficult position for our team, left back. Jan Vertonghen has been a master at that position for years, but we also need guys behind him. Arthur Theate has grown in recent matches in that position and Siebe has showed itself now.”
Leandro Trossard, who stood out against Burkina Faso with a goal and 2 assists, also received praise. “He was very goal-oriented. Leandro charmed me and he has shown that he can play in several positions. That is an advantage when preparing the World Cup selection,” said Martinez, who also praised Hans Vanaken.
“Hans reminds me more and more of Kevin De Bruyne lately,” he made a striking comparison. “Today he played a row lower, but that doesn’t matter to him. You can always count on him, he always wants the ball. I am very satisfied with him in this international match.”
Adnan Januzaj was also featured in Martinez’s hymn. “I’m very happy with him. He was very good in training, that’s why he started. You don’t find many players with that much talent. Adnan just had to be more consistent. Today he was the first player to defend. He has made a huge progress since the 2018 World Cup.”
With Dante Vanzeir, Wout Faes and Albert Sambi Lokonga, 3 field players did not play in the 2 practice matches of the past few days. Yet, according to Roberto Martinez, they need not despair.
“They didn’t do anything wrong. They deserved minutes, but unfortunately I couldn’t give them. Others may have showed a little more in training, but their evaluation is certainly not negative. Everyone improved compared to the previous camp.”
