Aston Villa’s Youri Tielemans will captain Belgium in the absence of Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne and Napoli striker Romelu Lukaku.
De Bruyne’s last match for the national team was in their 2-0 defeat to France in the UEFA Nations League in September.
After the tie, the 33-year-old ranted against his teammates for not giving their best on the pitch. There were mixed reactions to the Manchester City star’s public complaints.
Belgium will face Italy later today. Ahead of this fixture, the Aston Villa midfielder was asked to share his views on De Bruyne’s remarks. His comments are relayed by Gazet van Antwerpen.
“Kevin was frustrated and we all were. I understood him. After conceding the first goal [against France], we did not execute the plan that the national coach had asked us,” he said.
“Kevin also told truths. That we have to run for each other, that is nothing negative. That is the basis. His message served to make us better or wake us up.
“As the national coach said after a good conversation with Kevin, he understands that we have a young group. Maybe those remarks were not the best idea. But we forget that. We take our responsibility.”
The newspaper says the Aston Villa player ‘may have felt targeted’ by De Bruyne after his outburst last month.
On what to expect from him as the captain of the national team, Tielemans explained: “I have always been captain in the youth ranks. I will never avoid my responsibility.”
After the tie against Italy, Belgium will host France next week.
