Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at how Belgium could line up in Monday’s UEFA Nations League clash with France.
Belgium will be without their three most high-profile players once again when they welcome France to Brussels in the UEFA Nations League on Monday night.
Romelu Lukaku has requested not to be called up as he seeks to build up his fitness after missing much of preseason, while Kevin De Bruyne remains sidelined with the hip injury he picked up against Inter Milan for Manchester City last month.
Thibaut Courtois is also currently out with a minor muscle problem, but his very public falling out with manager Domenico Tedesco means he is not under consideration for selection at present.
Tedesco opted to stick with Koen Casteels again between the sticks against Italy, despite his recent move to Saudi Arabia, as Matz Sels pulled out with a late injury, and Maarten Vandevoordt is yet to break into the RB Leipzig team.
Another late withdrawal was Aston Villa midfielder Amadou Onana, who has been suffering with an issue over the past few weeks, and that has left Tedesco very short on options in the centre of midfield.
Onana’s Villa teammate Youri Tielemans, the only player left in the squad from the one that won the bronze medal at the 2018 World Cup, partnered Everton’s Orel Mangala during their 2-2 draw with Italy on Thursday, and the same pairing may start again.
The lack of options in midfield could see Tedesco experiment again with what appeared to be a three-at-the-back system in the early stages against Italy, so Timothy Castagne could come in after Jeremy Doku struggled greatly playing as an unorthodox right wing-back at times.
Before the encounter in Rome, Tielemans was the only player in the squad with over 50 caps, but Castagne’s appearance off the bench saw him hit the half-century mark.
On the opposite flank, Maxim De Cuyper was the only domestic-based player in the starting XI, and he was arguably Belgium’s best player, scoring a fine goal to bring them back into the game, and he was a constant attacking threat down the left.
Malick Fofana plays his club football in France and is in excellent form with four goal involvements in his last three games, and he will be hoping for more game time after making his senior debut as a late sub on Thursday along with Cyril Ngonge, who was a slightly surprising inclusion considering he has played only 12 minutes of Serie A football at Napoli this season.
Belgium possible starting lineup:
Casteels; Castagne, Debast, Faes, Theate, De Cuyper; Tielemans, Mangala; Trossard, Openda, Doku
Click here to see how France could line up for this encounter.
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