A lifelike Captain Haddock welcomed visitors to the Musée Hergé in Louvain-la-Neuve, where the Belgian Football Association presented the new shirts for this summer’s European Championship in Germany. The moment was supposed to be festive and CEO Piet Vandendriessche called national coach Domenico Tedesco on stage to hand him a shirt with the number 26, referring to the duration of his new contract.
Still, Tedesco could barely smile. On Wednesday evening he had sworn out loud, just as Captain Haddock had done at the entrance to the museum. On the eve of the announcement of the selection for the international matches in Ireland and England, he received the message that Kevin De Bruyne had to withdraw from the Red Devils with a groin injury.
Upon taking office, Tedesco had made the Manchester City playmaker his captain and De Bruyne wore the captain’s armband in Tedesco’s first two games, in Sweden and Germany. “It’s been a year since he played for us,” Tedesco said. “Kevin is incredibly important to us. We need him. It’s not that he doesn’t want to come, but we have to be wise now. We especially need him for the European Championship and therefore made the decision to leave him at City.”
Last big test before European Championships
De Bruyne’s absence disrupts Tedesco’s plans for the friendlies in Ireland and England on March 23 and 26. These matches serve as the last major test before the European Championships in June. In the immediate run-up to that tournament, only smaller matches against Montenegro and Luxembourg are planned.
Tedesco’s selection includes some surprising names, including debutant Koni De Winter and Thomas Meunier. Not there is Mile Svilar. Tedesco would have liked to call up the Belgian-Serbian goalkeeper, but the legal department of the football association advised against this. As a youth international, Svilar has already changed football nationality and is not allowed to do so a second time according to Fifa regulations.
Tedesco received by far the most questions about Thibaut Courtois on Thursday. The Real Madrid goalkeeper is fit again and could make his return to his club in two to three weeks. This could lead to a new attempt by the Football Association to allow Courtois to play for the Red Devils again. Courtois had turned his back on the Red Devils last summer after a conflict with Tedesco.
“I am happy that Thibaut is fit again, but as far as the national team is concerned, there is no new information for me,” Tedesco responded. “Courtois has clearly communicated that he does not feel comfortable playing the European Championship. We have drawn up our planning accordingly.”
It is clear that the water between Courtois and Tedesco is deeper than ever and that neither will take the initiative to settle the conflict at this time. Thibaut Courtois made his mark indirectly on Thursday by posting three Pinocchio emoticons on social media with a message about Tedesco. A day earlier, he had given a thumbs up to a message in which Axel Witsel had been critical of Domenico Tedesco.
“As far as Axel Witsel is concerned, there is no problem as far as I am concerned,” said Tedesco. “I didn’t call him up in March last year and I let him know that. We had a good conversation. In June, Axel himself announced that he was leaving the national team. Then we called again. I understood his reasons. If he thinks differently now, I’m sorry for him.”
Finally, Tedesco had a word about Arthur Vermeeren. “He is having a hard time due to a lack of playing minutes at Atlético Madrid. But he impressed us last time in training. That’s why we took him in again. We are here to support him.”
Goal (4): Arnaud Bodart (Standard), Koen Casteels (Wolfsburg/Dui), Thomas Kaminski (Luton Town/Eng), Matz Sels (Nottingham Forest/Eng)
Defense (8): Timothy Castagne (Fulham/Eng), Zeno Debast (Anderlecht), Olivier Deman (Werder Bremen/Dui), Koni De Winter (Genoa/Ita), Wout Faes (Leicester/Eng), Thomas Meunier (Trabzonspor/ Tur), Arthur Theate (Rennes/Fra), Jan Vertonghen (Anderlecht)
Midfield (6): Charles De Ketelaere (Atalanta/Ita), Amadou Onana (Everton/Eng), Orel Mangala (Lyon/Fra), Youri Tielemans (Aston Villa/Eng), Arthur Vermeeren (Atlético Madrid/Spa), Aster Vranckx (Wolfsburg/Ger)
Seven: Johan Bakayoko (PSV), Michy Batshuayi (Fenerbahçe/Tur), Jeremy Doku (Manchester City), Romelu Lukaku (AS Roma/Ita), Dodi Lukebakio (FC Sevilla/Spa) and Lois Openda (RB Leipzig/Dui), Leandro Trossard (Arsenal/England)
