Aston Villa midfielder Youri Tielemans has insisted he won’t be begging Belgium boss Domenico Tedesco for a start place against Romania.
The midfielder has been speaking to the press about the upcoming clash, in which Belgium need to bounce back from their opening game defeat against Slovakia.
The Aston Villa man was left on the bench for that game, with Tedesco preferring a midfield partnership of Onel Mangala and Amadou Onana to start the game.
The 27-year-old was called up on late in the second half, entering the fray as a 76th minute substitute as Belgium tried to step up their efforts and rescue a result late on.
He made a positive impact in the middle of the park but was unable to do enough to change the course of the game, with Belgium defeated in arguably the biggest shock of Euro 2024 so far.
The belief is that Tedesco will change things up for the clash against Romania, which could mean the introduction of the Aston Villa man if the Belgium boss decides to go for a more front foot approach.
He, though, won’t be begging for his place, despite being more than ready to step up if required to do so.
“I’m not going to make a case for myself as holder,” he said.
“I have also not received any signals that I could be in the team against Romania. The coach still has to decide that. I’m ready.
“We can only keep kicking at the goal and hope the ball will go in this time. In the previous game, I didn’t think it was so much the problem that we couldn’t reach our attackers – we had plenty of opportunities – it was just that the efficiency was lacking. Now they have to go in.
“The defeat was not a disaster, it will be important to win against Romania.”
