“The atmosphere is good.” That message filtered through on the banks of the Thames about the relationships within the Red Devils playing group. After one year under national coach Domenico Tedesco, almost every player knows where he stands. The basic players revel in the confidence of their national coach, the bench sitters have resigned themselves to their status. The team is “set”.
The Thibaut Courtois case was finally closed down last week by Domenico Tedesco and there is no further mention of other dropouts – Axel Witsel, Toby Alderweireld, Simon Mignolet. At times, England, led by Jude Bellingham, Declan Rice and Phil Foden, played very easily into the Belgian penalty area. But Matz Sels delivered another solid performance and the defense also held up until Jude Bellingham made it 2–2 in the final seconds of the match. The other goal was scored after a penalty foul by Jan Vertonghen on Ivan Toney.
Zeno Debast started in a central role next to Jan Vertonghen for the first time and seemed to have little trouble with nerves in a sold-out Wembley Stadium. In an attacking sense, Tedesco also has his act together. Romelu Lukaku and Jérémy Doku are the trendsetters of a team that missed Kevin De Bruyne due to injury. In De Bruyne’s absence, not only Arsenal striker Leandro Trossard but also Aston Villa midfielder Youri Tielemans stood up on Tuesday. The Brussels native – who most resembles Tintin in terms of origin and physique – played his best international match for the Red Devils in his 67th cap. He scored twice in the stadium where he delivered a thrilling shot to Leicester City to win the FA Cup against Chelsea in 2021.
His first goal came about by luck. England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford played the ball into the feet of Amadou Onana, who immediately turned it in to Tielemans. Pickford had run back to his goal, but Tielemans simply kicked the ball against the ball into the far corner.
The second goal was a beauty. After capturing the ball from Leandro Trossard, Tielemans reached Romelu Lukaku with a long cross pass. He outwitted his guard Lewis Dunk and brought the ball back in front of goal with a velvet cross with the outside of the foot. After a mighty sprint, Tielemans appeared again to head in the 1-2.
The goal had everything to make national coach Tedesco happy: commitment, belief, quick depth, technical ingenuity and opportunism. These are all qualities that are needed to score against the big boys at the European Championships.
“With players like Lukaku, Doku and Bakayoko, we have the players to play counter-attacking football,” Tedesco responded afterwards. “We have to defend more intensely. We did that better in the second half when we pressed higher.”
Regained self-confidence
If Belgium failed to set the pace against Ireland, things got intense in Wembley. “We didn’t want to give the English too much space and we surprised him with that. Of course it is sad if you concede a goal in the last five seconds. But England were very strong and keen to win. I can live with the 2–2.”
Even though the defense does not yet look stable, the competitive mentality with which the Devils went to battle even without Kevin De Bruyne underlines the team’s regained self-confidence.
Far-reaching conclusions for the European Championship cannot yet be made. England missed three world players with Bukayo Saka, Harry Kane and Kyle Walker. Harry Maguire and John Stones – early in the first half – had also dropped out. Belgium had lost against a more clinical opponent.
These are concerns that Tedesco and the Devils do not have to worry about now. In two months, the national coach can announce a selection that, apart from Kevin De Bruyne and perhaps Yannick Carrasco, does not contain many other names than on Tuesday in Wembley.
ENGLAND-BELGIUM2-2Goals: 11′ Tielemans 0-1; 17’Toney 1-1; 37′ Tielemans 1-2; 90+5′ Bellingham 2-2
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